The box office saw an unexpected twist this weekend as Disney’s Lilo & Stitch continued its impressive run, outperforming the much-anticipated John Wick spinoff, Ballerina, by a wide margin. Despite industry predictions that Ballerina could make a strong showing, it opened to a modest $25 million — a far cry from its initial $35 million-plus expectations. Meanwhile, Lilo & Stitch danced its way to the top of the charts for the third weekend in a row, grossing an estimated $32.5 million from over 4,000 theaters across North America.
Lilo & Stitch has quickly become a global box office sensation. As of Sunday, the live-action adaptation has amassed a staggering $772.6 million worldwide, including $335.8 million from domestic audiences and another $436.8 million internationally. The film passed the $300 million mark in North America on Thursday, proving its staying power and cross-generational appeal.
On the flip side, Ballerina struggled to match the performance of previous entries in the John Wick franchise. Its $25 million debut marks the weakest opening since the original John Wick movie, which premiered back in 2014. Despite the franchise’s history of growing box office returns with each sequel, Ballerina failed to hit the mark. Starring Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, a young assassin trained by the Ruska Roma, the film had the added star power of Keanu Reeves, Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane, and Norman Reedus, but that wasn’t enough to spark a breakout weekend.
There is some silver lining for Ballerina, though. Audiences gave the film a promising A- CinemaScore, and its Rotten Tomatoes audience score sits at a strong 94 percent. With positive word of mouth and solid international sales already helping offset the film’s $90 million production budget, there’s still a chance it could find its footing in the coming weeks.
Part of Ballerina’s softer debut may be attributed to stiff competition in the action genre. Paramount and Skydance’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, starring Tom Cruise in his final outing as Ethan Hunt, continued to draw crowds in its third weekend, pulling in an estimated $15 million domestically and $40.7 million overseas. Its global total now stands at an impressive $450.4 million.
Other films currently in theaters include Karate Kid: Legends, which dropped a steep 57 percent in its second weekend with $8.7 million, bringing its domestic total to just $35.4 million. Meanwhile, Final Destination: Bloodlines and Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme are still bringing in modest audiences. The latter, now playing in over 1,600 theaters, is expected to earn $6.3 million this weekend and has accumulated $7 million to date — helped by a stellar per-theater average in its limited debut.
As summer blockbusters continue to roll out, all eyes are on whether Ballerina can pick up speed — or if Lilo & Stitch will continue its surprising reign over the box office.