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Richard & Sean: Lilo & Tom Turn Up the Nostalgia

Taking stock after a record-breaking Memorial Day weekend

May 27

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All you have to do to save the box office? “A live-action remake of an animated film and the eighth installment of a popular series,” says Richard Rushfield.

That’s right: Lilo & Stitch, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and, as Sean McNulty points out, a “diverse slate” rounding things out powered the biggest Memorial Day weekend in box office history. Which meant that the Monday Morning QBs donned their analysis helmets to assess, for once, what went right.

Lilo & Stitch hit a sweet spot of Millennial/Gen Z nostalgia — could Dora the Explorer or Hannah Montana be next? Why did this Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible reckoning perform better than the last? And did anyone watch Skydance’s other adventure film that released this weekend on Apple TV+?

Richard and Sean break down all that and more in this edition of their weekly box office show.

Make sure you’re subscribed to get notified when they go live on Mondays, and download the app, where you can also see all of The Ankler’s team posting on Substack’s social feed, Notes.

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