Voice of Chris Sanders as Stitch in “Lilo & Stitch” and Rachel Zegler in “Snow White.”
Two months after Disney’s live-action Snow White was released, the studio’s live-action version of Lilo & Stitch is making up for the major misfire with a massive Memorial Day weekend box office.
Based on the 2002 animated feature film hit of the same name, Lilo & Stitch, per Deadline’s projections, is eyeing a monolithic four-day holiday weekend opening of $180 million from 4,420 North American theaters.
What’s even more encouraging is that the film is handily defeating pre-release projections and doing so by going head-to-head against Tom Cruise’s big-budget action-espionage movie Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which itself is opening to a franchise-best $77 million opening in its first four-day frame, Deadline reported.
On the other hand, Disney’s Snow White — which starred Rachel Zegler in the title role and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen — had no real competition when it opened in theaters on March 21, earning an anemic $42.2 million from 4,200 theaters domestically.
In most cases, a $42 million take is a solid number. Snow White, however, had a reported $270 million production budget before prints and advertising, so it became painfully apparent from the start that Disney’s live-action adaptation of the 1937 animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was not going to live happily ever after.
Maia Keoloha as Lilo and the voice of Chris Sanders as Stitch in “Lilo & Stitch.”
Disney Completely Avoided Any ‘Snow White’-Like Controversies Prior To The Release Of ‘Lilo & Stitch’
So why, exactly, are Disney executives likely breathing a major sigh of relief two mere days into the release of Lilo & Stitch?
For one, the already beloved tale of a lonely orphaned 6-year-old girl (Maia Kealoha) befriending a blue, furry alien experiment gone awry cost $100 million to make and $100 million to market worldwide, according to Variety, which is no doubt an expensive production but a bargain in comparison to the amount Disney spent to make Snow White.
Perhaps more importantly, though, Lilo & Stitch opened in theaters without being hampered by any notable Snow White-like controversies. Sure, fans and critics will always find reasons to complain when a beloved Disney animated property is adapted into a live-action film, but you didn’t find any of the stars of Lilo & Stitch making snipes about the 2002 film being dated or outside parties criticizing casting decisions.
Also, there were no divisive political social media posts from the Lilo & Stitch cast members nor did the CGI Stitch resemble half-rendered garden gnomes like Snow White’s seven dwarf companions.
In fact, Stitch looks exactly like he did in the animated film — except this time his CGI interpretation came off as an actual living, breathing creature who fit into a live-action frame — and he sounded the same. That was a given, though, considering original Stitch voice actor Chris Sanders, who also directed the original film, reprised the character’s voice for the new version.
Only time will tell how much money the live-action Lilo & Stitch will end up making in theaters. The film’s opening weekend numbers, however, are setting up a very promising scenario.
Once information about ticket sales in international markets begin to roll in, there’s no doubt that those numbers — in addition to the film’s projected $180 million four-day domestic opening — will easily push Lilo & Stitch far past the $200 million mark at the worldwide box office.
Considering Lilo & Stitch’s international gross through Friday alone was $56.3 million, per The Numbers, it’s even possible that the film could reach if not exceed the $300 million mark worldwide by Monday.
Snow White, meanwhile, is nearing the end of its box office run with a worldwide box office gross of $204 million in ticket sales since March 21.
Of course, Lilo & Stitch’s success won’t ever provide an excuse for Snow White’s failings, but at least the film’s booming box office will help erase some of the painful memories the live-action princess movie flop created in the past few months since its release.
