It was Saturday afternoon, and I had ditched my two young, loud kids, leaving them with my husband for a solo trip to the movie theater.
There was no quiet to be had, though. When I got to the AMC theater at Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, the place was packed. Among the crowd: lots of kids as giddy and rowdy as my own.
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It was the opening weekend for Walt Disney Co.’s live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch.” Families posed for selfies outside the theater with a giant banner featuring the crazed alien Stitch. Inside, a long line for popcorn and candy snaked through the lobby.
The premieres of “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” powered a record-breaking Memorial Day weekend at the box office.
As my colleague Samantha Masunaga reported, “Lilo & Stitch” hauled in an estimated $183 million in its opening weekend in the U.S. and Canada, setting the record for the biggest Memorial Day weekend opener ever. Not adjusting for inflation, it toppled the former top Memorial Day movie, “Top Gun: Maverick,” which debuted with $160.5 million in 2022.
Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media’s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” brought in $77 million domestically for second place, with “Final Destination Bloodlines,” “Thunderbolts*” and “Sinners” rounding out the top five.
The busy holiday was a relief for theater owners and moviemakers still struggling from a post-pandemic slump.
The local film and TV industry has been battered in recent years by the slowdown in production wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, which made audiences more comfortable staying home to watch movies on streaming platforms, and the writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023.
Enter: the little blue alien and Tom Cruise, still performing his own stunts at 62. Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution, called the holiday ticket sales “just an extraordinary accomplishment after so many people were willing to write off the theatrical business.”
Historically, the holiday has been one of the biggest moviegoing weekends, serving as a springboard for the busy summer months.
This year, the record-breaking holiday follows a solid spring. Films such as Warner Bros. Pictures’ “A Minecraft Movie” and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” helped to fuel domestic theatrical revenue of $875 million in April, close to the pre-pandemic average of $886 million for the same month from 2015 to 2019, Eric Handler, media and entertainment analyst at Roth Capital, told Masunaga.
Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Thunderbolts*” and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Final Destination Bloodlines,” which premiered in May, also have kept up steady business.
I didn’t go to see the blockbusters, though.
I walked into a less-than-half-full screening of “Friendship,” the ultra-awkward indie comedy starring Tim Robinson as a suburban dad who becomes obsessed with his new neighbor, a weatherman played by Paul Rudd. The trailer boasts a review that, in reference to another Rudd movie, calls it “‘I Love You, Man’ for sickos.”
For an independent film, it had a good holiday weekend, bringing in $4.6 million, according to the film performance tracker Box Office Mojo.
Half of my theater’s audience sat quietly, and I heard one older man grumble on the way out that it was “the worst movie I’ve ever seen.” The other half laughed through the actors’ foraging expedition for wild mushrooms and “adventures” in the local sewer system. I was in the latter half, whatever that says about me.
My husband — a Robinson superfan who went by himself to a “Friendship” screening later that night — met me outside the theater with our kids, who had one question: “When can we go see ‘Lilo & Stitch’?”
Today’s top stories
Antonio Villaraigosa pivots toward oil industry in run for governor
- As mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa’s work to expand mass transit, plant trees and reduce carbon emissions made him a favorite of the environmental movement.
- But Villaraigosa also accepted more than $1 million in campaign contributions and other financial support from oil companies and other donors tied to the industry over more than three decades in public life, according to city and state fundraising disclosures reviewed by The Times.
Groundwater is rapidly declining in the Colorado River Basin
- As the Colorado River’s reservoirs have declined, even larger amounts of groundwater have been drained from aquifers.
- Researchers found that most of the depletion of groundwater is occurring in the river’s lower basin, largely in Arizona, where the bulk of the water is pumped from desert aquifers to irrigate farms.
- “If this trend continues, it could lead to severe water shortages that impact not only local farmers and residents but also broader agricultural markets and municipal water supplies throughout the southwestern U.S.,” researcher Karem Abdelmohsen said.
The LAPD is still paying for George Floyd protest tactics
- Police actions related to the George Floyd protests have cost taxpayers $11.9 million in settlements and jury awards, according to a Times analysis of LAPD data.
- The city faces tens of millions more in liability exposure from scores of pending lawsuits.
- Five years after Floyd’s killing, police backers say public opinion has largely swung back in favor of aggressive law enforcement, pointing to voter decisions last year to pass tough-on-crime legislation and oust progressive prosecutors.
What else is going on
- A 4-year-old Bakersfield girl facing deportation could die within days of losing medical care.
- A mob wreaks havoc in downtown L.A., tagging buildings and trains as someone breathes fire.
- Trump’s FCC delays multilingual emergency alerts for natural disasters, sparking concern in L.A.
- Trump, ‘60 Minutes’ and corruption allegations put Paramount on edge with a sale less certain.
- Urban fires can require long trips for helicopters to get water. An ex-L.A. County firefighter has a solution.
- Hannah Gutierrez, ‘Rust’ western movie armorer, has been released from prison.
- A U.S. attorney in L.A. moves to ‘neutralize’ California’s sanctuary rules.
Commentary and opinions
- The age of the sweep is over. This year’s Emmys are in for a much-needed shakeup, writes columnist Glenn Whipp.
- Pushing more Americans into homelessness is no way to revitalize downtowns, argues columnist LZ Granderson.
- Bravo to all those engaged in the struggle against Trump’s anti-democratic bullying, columnist Robin Abcarian writes.
- Columnist George Skelton asks, Is Kamala Harris the best option to fix California’s problems?
- Antonio Villaraigosa is dying to run against Kamala Harris for governor, columnist Mark Z. Barabak writes. Here’s why.
This morning’s must reads
Other must reads
- Walking all 15.5 miles of Pico Boulevard in a day revealed hidden parts of L.A.
- So what really happened at the cartel training site dubbed ‘Mexican Auschwitz’?
- The 10 best movies we saw at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
- Weekend warriors yank out invasive plants to save L.A. River.
For your downtime
Going out
- Restaurants: 50 of the best rooftop restaurants and bars to soak in city views.
- Shopping: 10 of the best places to buy patio furniture in L.A.
Staying in
- Television: ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 finale: A mission for revenge takes a turn.
- Recipes: Here’s a recipe for Nonna’s meatball sandwich.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
A question for you: What’s your favorite city to visit in California?
Valerie says, “My Happy Place a.k.a.: Santa Barbara.”
Lynne says, “Cayucos! Cool beach town in Central California!”
Email us at [email protected], and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your photo of the day
Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Myung J. Chung at Los Angeles National Cemetery in Westwood where Scouts joined community members in a huge Memorial Day effort to place flags on nearly 90,000 grave sites.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected]. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.