Walt Disney Studios bet that live-action kids film “Lilo & Stitch,” which opened to blockbuster boxoffice, was worth a remake. The original generates a billion dollars a year in licensed merchandise sales stemming from the 2002 all-animated film of the same name.
“Last year alone, ‘Lilo & Stitch’ consumer products generated an estimated $2.5 billion-plus, according to sources,” lifted by more oompf from the new film, says Deadline.com article by Anthony D’Alessandro. It’s one of Disney’s 11 top movies in merchandise.
The new version is live-action with real human actors, though the irascible Stitch character (pictured above rampaging) is computer animation dropped in. Both this year’s and the 2002 present a furry rascal of an alien from outer-space who crash-lands, connecting with a girl and her mother in Hawaii. They pass off the restless Stitch as a dog that struggles to fit in the human world. (Stitch is now blue but was reptilian green in the all-animated film 23 years ago).
The new “Lilo” movie grossed a blockbuster $146 million over the May 23-25 three-day weekend domestically (U.S. and Canada), and $182.6 million over the four-day Memorial Day holiday that includes Monday (May 26).
As of May 27, “Lilo’s” domestic gross from theaters is $198 million with $393 million worldwide (and still going strong!). The kids yarn topped boxoffice, including Tom Cruise-fronted “Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning.”
“The entire ‘Lilo & Stitch’ catalog has grown significantly each year on the [Disney+ video streaming] service and that’s based on hours streamed,” the Deadline.com article continues. “The ‘Lilo & Stitch’ franchise has driven over a half billion (546M) hours on Disney+ around the globe with the original movie clocking north of 280M hours viewed. Greenlight a live action feature? Hell, yes!”
The article continues: “Disney’s marketing team pulled out all the stops with an irreverent marketing campaign, dropping Stitch cameos in big cultural moments like the Super Bowl, where Stitch caused chaos on the field right after the coin flip with a 30 second spot that generated 173M views after 24 hours and trended at No. 10 on X. Marketing’s strategic focus was also about selling moviegoers on the fact that this movie would kick off summer.”
Per Deadline.com, the creative thrust is: “If you can’t make it to Hawaii, well then ‘Lilo & Stitch’ would bring you there.”
The Deadline.com story also notes “Lilo” kicked off its consumer marketing in earnest at last August’s D23 fan event for Disney aficionados. It became the most-viewed announcement out of the entire event week, after 24 hours ranking as Disney’s third most-viewed of all time with 158 million views in its first day. That only trails behind 2019’s “Lion King” teaser and full trailer.
The new “Lilo” is ostensibly a kid’s film, but achieved blockbuster boxoffice because it appeals to adults, including many without kids who went to cinemas. This was presaged because adults ages 20-45 are big buyers of the first movie’s merchandise and also a large following on video streaming, apparently attracted by the irreverent Stitch character. The alien has a rough side and is not just saccharine.
Merchandise prowess has driven other movies to the silver screen. “Toy Story 2” was originally conceived as a direct-to-DVD (skipping theaters), because in the late 1990s originals for DVDs could make big money. Ultimately, Walt Disney Studios changed course, routing “Toy Story 2” to cinemas in 1999, where it was a theatrical blockbuster.
The new “Lilo” was a bargain to make, with estimates that its production cost is about $100 million. That is the low-end of major studio films and far below the $200 million-$400 million cost for top glossy films with big stars (“Lilo” creative talent was not expensive). All those figures exclude marketing expenses, of course.
Purists bemoan that Hollywood pushes sequels, remakes and comic-book adaptations with formulaic plots, eschewing original concepts. Such derivative films are easier to market than originals, because they incorporate familiar elements.
Pundits relished that Disney’s live-action “Snow White” bombed at the boxoffice in March of this year. But “Lilo’s” success shows latching on to the familiar, in this case the 2002 original with an impressive merchandise pedigree, remains a formula for success.
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