Disney+ is adding another theatrical giant this week as Lilo & Stitch (2025) makes its way to the platform following a billion-dollar box office run.
The original animated feature debuted in 2002 under the direction of Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. It told the story of Lilo, a Hawaiian girl who adopts an unusual pet that turns out to be a genetic experiment. The film leaned into the Hawaiian principle of “ʻohana,” or family, blending heartfelt storytelling with hand-drawn animation and a soundtrack of Elvis Presley classics. It quickly became a modern Disney favorite, spawning sequels and an animated series.
Two decades later, Disney reintroduced the story with a live-action and CG hybrid led by director Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On). Newcomer Maia Kealoha took on the role of Lilo, supported by Zach Galifianakis, Billy Magnussen, and Courtney B. Vance, while Sanders reprised his role as the voice of Stitch. Originally developed for streaming, the film pivoted to theaters after Moana 2 (2024) successfully tested the same shift from Disney+ development to the big screen.
The theatrical release proved to be a global event. The film crossed $1.033 billion worldwide, topping A Minecraft Movie (2025), which earned $957.7 million, per Box Office Mojo. In late June, Disney confirmed that a sequel is in active development.
The live-action debut also reignited interest in the 2002 animated classic. Nielsen reported that from June 2–8, 2025, the original film broke into the Top 10 most-viewed movies across all streaming services, with 236,000 minutes viewed. It charted alongside The Accountant 2 (2025) on Amazon Prime, Disney and Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World (2025), and The Wild Robot (2024).
Deadline underscored the franchise’s reach across the company: “The Lilo & Stitch franchise in series and the original pic has driven over 579 million hours on Disney+ around the globe,” the outlet wrote. “The original Lilo & Stitch has accounted for more than 306M hours of viewing on the OTT service. Disney+ global. Retail sales for Stitch have grown from $0.2B in 2019 to $2.6B in 2024, representing a ten-fold increase.”
As What’s On Disney Plus put it: “The original animated film, Lilo & Stitch, continues to get a boost in viewership following the release of the new live-action version, highlighting the benefit of the large back catalog of titles available on Disney+.”
Now, Lilo & Stitch (2025) makes its way to Disney+ on September 3. The release comes at a time when theatrical-to-streaming transitions have often resulted in major spikes on the platform. Even films that struggled theatrically, such as Marc Webb’s Disney’s Snow White (2025) and Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts* (2025), found their audience once they hit Disney+.
With Lilo & Stitch already cemented as one of Disney’s most successful releases of the year, its arrival on Disney+ could set new records for the service.
The film begins streaming on September 3.
