Do You Know Who Won The Tom Cruise Vs Lilo & Stitch Box Office Battle In 2002? (Photo Credit – Instagram)
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Tom Cruise and Disney are bringing their own Barbenheimer this May with Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning and Lilo and Stitch. Their goal is just as ambitious, given that they not only have to “save” cinema yet again, thanks to a subpar year for Hollywood, but also squash the notion that audiences might be a tiny bit annoyed by sequels and remakes.
While Paramount Pictures and Disney are crossing fingers that the box office receipts of the eighth Mission: Impossible film and the latest live-action remake of another animated classic do not devour each other, the startling truth is that such wishful thinking is futile. What’s more, the evidence is not even lying further than, well, Lilo and Stitch and Tom Cruise themselves.
As it turns out, back in 2002, the original Lilo and Stitch encountered similar challenges by not securing a solo summer release — and so did a high-octane Tom Cruise classic, Minority Report. These two movies were also released on the very same summer day, June 21. The ramifications were not brutal, but they certainly prevented two modern classics, cherished by critics and audiences alike, from attaining greater heights.
Minority Report, directed by Steven Spielberg, collected $358 million (via Box Office Mojo) globally against a $102 million budget, landing well short of expectations. Lilo and Stitch turned its $80 million 2D-animation budget into a similar 350% return with $273 million (via Box Office Mojo) at the ticket windows. Of course, the domestic clash was much more sinister, with the kid-friendly tally of $145 million scarcely edging out the high-concept Philip K. Dick adaptation’s $132 million.
Now, 23 years later, Disney and Cruise have found some things to celebrate with promising early buzz and optimistic forecasts for their Memorial Day opening. But like before, it’s bound to go haywire from there. Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, for instance, is already heading into uncharted territory with an opening weekend estimated between $60 and $80 million, bigger than previous installments but nevertheless inadequate to secure an imperative $300 million total.
Overseas, it can always be counted upon that Mission: Impossible and Tom Cruise movies perform better, though recouping the $400 million cost, one of the most a film has ever spent, is not going to be a piece of cake.
Lilo and Stitch are similarly hovering around $100 million projections, which are not celebratory compared to the numbers of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. However, it relieves Disney of the recent disastrous turnout witnessed by Snow White.
Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning and Lilo and Stitch are scheduled to be released worldwide on May 23, 2025.
Note: Box office numbers are based on estimates from various sources. Numbers have not been independently verified by Koimoi.
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