“Millions of moviegoers this holiday weekend proved once again that going to the cinema is a true American pastime,” said Michael O’Leary, President and CEO of Cinema United. “Records aside, it\u2019s clear that movie theaters are cultural and economic hubs in cities and towns of all sizes, uniting communities across the country in the singular thrill of seeing a movie on the big screen. This weekend is just the start of what will be a great summer for movie fans around the world.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Variety<\/em>, as of Sunday evening: <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a Memorial Day weekend for the box office record books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Movie theaters across the country were jamming as \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d and Tom Cruise\u2019s \u201cMission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning\u201d fueled the largest Memorial Day holiday in history \u2014 and established several other benchmarks in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Families turned out in force for Disney\u2019s live-action \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d remake, which collected a blockbuster $145.5 million in its opening weekend and an estimated $183 million through Monday. Those ticket sales defied projections and cemented a Memorial Day opening weekend record, overtaking a different Cruise tentpole, 2022\u2019s \u201cTop Gun: Maverick,\u201d with $126 million over the weekend and $160 million through the four days. \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d also secured the second-largest start across any<\/em> four-day holiday weekend, behind only 2018\u2019s \u201cBlack Panther,\u201d which amassed $242 million over Presidents\u2019 Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, older audiences showed up to watch Paramount and Skydance\u2019s \u201cMission: Impossible \u2013 The Final Reckoning,\u201d which earned a series-best $63 million over the weekend and an estimated $77 million through Monday\u2019s holiday. This eighth installment just narrowly beat 2018\u2019s \u201cMission: Impossible \u2013 Fallout\u201d ($61 million) to score the top debut of the 29-year-old franchise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to effective counterprogramming \u2014 and a huge assist by holdovers like \u201cFinal Destination Bloodlines,\u201d \u201cThunderbolts*\u201d and \u201cSinners\u201d \u2014 this weekend delivered the best collective Memorial Day weekend haul with $322 million across all films.<\/strong> It\u2019s been more than a decade since this many people went to the movies over the holiday frame; the prior record was established in 2013 with $314 million across all films, led by \u201cFast & Furious 6,\u201d \u201cThe Hangover Part III\u201d and \u201cStar Trek Into Darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Millions of moviegoers this holiday weekend proved once again that going to the cinema is a true American pastime,” said Michael O’Leary, President and CEO of Cinema United. “Records aside, it\u2019s clear that movie theaters are cultural and economic hubs in cities and towns of all sizes, uniting communities across the country in the singular […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":637,"featured_media":14696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[611,562],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage-featured-update","category-press"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n