The mind-blowing coincidence that made Lilo & Stitch Tom Cruise’s unlikeliest enemies
Tom Cruise isn’t the kind of star you’d want to make an enemy of. He is one of Hollywood’s most powerful actors, not only because of his ties to Scientology, but because he has somehow transcended his status as an acting icon, becoming a symbol of ultimate success. With leading roles in several franchises, including Mission: Impossible and Top Gun, Cruise is an instantly recognisable figure who simply can’t be toppled from his position at the top of the industry.
The actor has the power to convince producers to give him what he wants (such as when he managed to secure extra funding for Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York), and he is also trusted enough to carry out those death-defying stunts on his own. However, he has found himself battling with a certain cast of characters twice now in a series of coincidences, proving that perhaps one of the biggest challenges to his success is actually Disney.
Bear with us, because we might sound a little ridiculous, but we believe that Lilo & Stitch has something against Cruise. Seriously, it has tried to topple Cruise’s crown twice now, beginning with the animated film’s release back in 2002. The beloved Disney movie, which follows a Hawaiian orphan who befriends a little blue alien and discovers the true meaning of family, hit American cinemas on June 21st, grossing a whopping $273million as a result. It quickly became an animated classic, praised for its tender exploration of connection and community as well as its Elvis Presley-heavy soundtrack.
However, on the exact day, Cruise’s Minority Report, directed by Steven Spielberg, emerged in theatres. The film managed to beat Lilo & Stitch at the box office, debuting at number one in America, while the animated film landed in second place. Their opening weekend statistics were close, however, with Minority Report earning $35.677m while Lilo & Stitch grossed $35.260m. In the end, Spielberg’s film made a total gross of $358.4m, surpassing Lilo & Stitch’s box office takings by almost $100m.
So, Cruise had the edge this time, but fast forward to May 23rd, 2025, and the competition is back on. The live-action version of Lilo & Stitch, directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, debuted in cinemas at the same time as Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. This time around, the former raced miles ahead, suggesting that in 2025, it’s lighthearted tales of family and nostalgia that are attracting more audiences to the cinema.
During the four-day Memorial Weekend, Christopher McQuarrie’s film grossed $79m, while Camp’s took home a staggering $182.6m. The young Lilo and her sidekick Stitch seem to have finally got their revenge on Cruise. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning now sits at $546.9m in box office earnings while Lilo & Stitch is edging close to $1billion, with an incredibly impressive current gross of $914.4m.
So, there you have it. After Cruise and Spielberg’s sci-fi film beat the more family-friendly sci-fi Disney movie in 2002, the beloved children’s characters weren’t going to let him get away with it a second time, and Lilo & Stitch has now surpassed Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt by a country mile.
