The Biggest Movie of 2025 Finally Makes Its Streaming Debut

There have been some great and surprising stories from the box office in 2025, with several hits performing well above expectations. A Minecraft Movie and Sinners really kickstarted the successful spring and summer run earlier this year, with the former earning nearly $1 billion in theaters and the latter setting records for R-rated horror films. As many hits as we’ve had this year, though, there’s only one movie that actually shattered expectations and surpassed the billion-dollar mark at the box office. On Wednesday morning, that Disney smash hit finally made its way to the world of streaming.

Wednesday marked the streaming premiere of Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch, which originally hit theaters back in May. The film is, of course, a remake of the groundbreaking animated classic from Disney that was released in 2002. Given that Lilo & Stitch has been far and away the biggest film at the box office so far this year, it will likely be the most popular title on Disney+ for a while.

A big reason for the success of the live-action Lilo & Stitch is due to the enormous popularity at the original film has found over the years. When it was first released, the original Lilo & Stitch made just over $270 million at the box office, making it a solid success but not any kind of runaway phenomenon. However, the franchise continued after that for years, thanks to straight-to-video sequels and a Disney Channel animated series.

Stitch has become a Disney icon globally as the years have gone on, making it clear that there is now more love for the story and these characters than there was when the original was first released.

Is the Live-Action Lilo & Stitch Different Than the Animated Movie?

There are a lot of live-action adaptations — particularly from Disney — that feel unnecessary when you compare them to the original animated films. 2019’s The Lion King, for example, is just a computer-generated remake of the iconic animated film, telling the same story with the same songs and looking far worse while doing it.

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It can be argued that the same applies to Lilo & Stitch, especially when you think about just how well the animation in the 2002 film has aged. It continues to look phenomenal (there’s a new 4K transfer to prove it), while the live-action edition looks like a regular movie.

The look of the film aside, the live-action Lilo & Stitch does at least do some work in its second half to differentiate itself from the animated film. There are a lot of changes to the story as it comes to an end, and many of the characters take on different roles.

Now, we can argue for hours about the actual merits of those changes, and whether or not they actually make the story of Lilo & Stitch better. But you can’t say that the movies aren’t different.

If you love the original Lilo & Stitch, though, the new version might not do much for you. As someone who genuinely believes the original is among Disney’s strongest animated films, the remake didn’t click with me. A lot of the first half of the film is a carbon copy of the animated version, and I just spent most of that time thinking, “I’d enjoy this more if I just turned on the original instead.” Then again, your mileage varies when it comes to movies, and clearly a lot of people enjoyed this new take on Stitch.

What did you think of Disney’s new Lilo & Stitch movie? Do you still prefer the original? Let us know in the comments!

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