‘Lilo & Stitch’ Hits $1 Billion: First Film in 2025 to Break Global Box Office Record

Lilo & Stitch live-action box office success

Lastly. As the first Hollywood film of 2025 to reach the $1 billion mark at the global box office, Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch established its position as the highest-grossing Western film of the year globally as well as internationally, the studio revealed Thursday.

With $416.2 million earned domestically and $584.8 million earned overseas, it ended Wednesday with a $1.001 billion worldwide haul.

Overall, China’s Ne Za 2 holds the 2025 record with ticket sales of approximately $1.899 billion. The Chinese box office accounts for $1.832 billion, the great majority of the movie’s revenue. (In North America, it has made $20 million.)

Since its debut over Memorial Day, Lilo & Stitch, an animated film remake of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ well-known 2002 picture, has surpassed all expectations, thanks to Gen Zers and families who grew up with the original.

Disney’s cinematic business has now released four billion-dollar pictures in only the last 13 months, marking this milestone. The 2024 summer tentpoles, not adjusted for inflation, include Pixar’s Inside Out 2 ($1.698 billion) and Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine ($1.328 billion), in addition to Rideback’s Lilo and the Moana sequel.

“We knew there was a lot of love for Lilo & Stitch with audiences around the world, yet we never take that for granted, and we’re proud of how this new film has connected with people,” Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman said in a statement. “I’m thankful to our filmmakers, our cast, and all on our Studio team who have made this film such a success, and we look forward to more adventures with these characters ahead.”

In the United States, Lilo & Stitch debuted on May 23 to a record-breaking $183 million over the four-day holiday, contributing to the largest Memorial Day weekend ever, together with Paramount’s Tom Cruise film Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.

Only two movies this year have made more than $400 million at the domestic box office, with Lilo & Stitch coming in second only to Warner Bros.’ A Minecraft Movie, which has made an incredible $955.1 million worldwide so far but hasn’t made it into the billion-dollar club. In North America, it continues to outsell Lilo, with ticket sales exceeding $423 million.

In Mexico, Lilo & Stitch is the highest-grossing Disney live-action movie ever and the highest-grossing international Hollywood release of the year at the same time. In addition, it is the highest-grossing movie of 2025 in a number of minor regions as well as important overseas markets in Latin America (Brazil) and Europe (France, Italy, and Spain).

Lilo & Stitch is still showing in theaters throughout the world, and a follow-up is already in the works. The popularity of the new live-action movie has rekindled interest in the series worldwide, resulting in record viewership of the original animated masterpiece and its associated content on Disney+, which has amassed over 640 million hours of viewing globally.

The crowd-pleasing all-audience movie is the 58th worldwide to reach the $1 billion milestone. Not accounting for inflation, 2019’s The Lion King is the highest-grossing live-action film from Disney, at $1.662 billion.