Summertime is over for this year. For many, the temps were uncomfortably high and stormy waters created havoc in parts of the U.S., even taking lives.
For movie buffs, notably in Hawaii, the box office champ was “Lilo & Stitch,” a charming Disney live-action film shot here and reintroduced the world to the concept of ‘ohana.
And beginning today (Sept. 3), “Lilo & Stitch” starts streaming on
Disney+, if you have signed on to this service. It surely will attract the stay-at-homers who bypass the theater experience to discover belated joy via home viewing. Whether weather made an impact, keeping movie fans away from the cinema, is anyone’s guess.
But it’s time to reflect on this year’s summer films.
At last count, “Lilo & Stitch,” grossed more than $3.53 billion world-wide, short of the anticipated $4 billion mark, according to Comscore.
Surely, this was a rather lukewarm summer at the box office, compared to earlier seasons like 2023’s “Barbenheimer” match, when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” dominated the grosses. “Lilo & Stitch” was a curiosity, but fans rallied … making it No. 1 in overall summertime grosses.
Here is a list of the top 10 summer movies in 2025, by domestic box office tallies:
1—“Lilo & Stitch,” $423,318,538
2—“Superman,” $351,748,613
3—”Jurassic World: Rebirth,” $338,265, 613
4—“The Fantastic Four: First Step,” $265,826,18
5—“How to Train Your Dragon,” $262,774,245
6—“Mission: Impossible –The Final Reckoning,” $197,413,515
7—“Thunderbolts,” $190,274,328
8—“F1: The Movie,” $188,071,545
9—”Final Destinations: Bloodlines,” $138,130,814
10—“Weapons,” $134,602,687
Interestingly, the tale of a little Hawaiian girl, Lilo (played by Maia Kealoha) who befriends Experiment 626, aka Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders) has warmed the hearts of viewers. The two have an unexpected relationship with highs and lows, laughter and heartache, and the journey provides shared mutual joy.
The film was directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, from a screenplay written by local boy Christopher Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes.
Lilo and Stitch beat Superman, Tom Cruise, a flying dragon and seawater dinosaurs to steal the summer flick competition.
You can also watch the original animated feature, on the Disney channel, and lest you forget, a live-action sequel is anticipated to be in the movie theaters in two years…
‘Hamilton’ retains No. 1 spot
As summer season ends, and vacationers exit Broadway, “Hamilton” remains atop the weekly gross list, for the week ending Aug. 31.
The Top 10:
1—“Hamilton,” $2.264 million
2—“Wicked,” $2.005 million
3—“The Lion King,” $1.875 million
4—“Mamma Mia,” $1.787 million
5—“Maybe Happy Ending,” $1.567 million
6—“Death Becomes Here,” $1.373 million
7—“MJ the Musical,” $1.333 million
8—“Oh, Mary!,” $1.234 million
9—“Just in Time,” $1,277 million
10—“The Outsiders,” “$1.198 million
FYI, the complete list of Broadway grosses, provided by the Broadway Guild, was not available at the time this column was filed…
And that’s Show Biz…