“Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible” Show Why Theaters Matter in a Streaming World

If 2023 was the summer of #Barbenheimer, then 2025 is already #StitchImpossible.

During Memorial Day weekend, Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible —The Final Reckoning, two wildly different movies, have reignited the box office. Lilo & Stitch, the live-action remake of the popular Disney animated feature, has become a multigenerational hit. Meanwhile, Final Reckoning has given Tom Cruise another explosive turn as Ethan Hunt and demonstrated, once again, that audiences will turn up for high-octane spectacle when it’s built for the big screen. Together, these movies are creating the biggest one-two punch in the box office since the phenomenal theatrical success of Barbie and Oppenheimer in the summer of 2023. Lilo & Stitch and Final Reckoning are also reigniting a debate about the place of movie theaters in New Hollywood’s streaming-first world.

“An Outmoded Form of Entertainment”

At the center of the debate is Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who recently declared moviegoing “an outmoded form of entertainment.” For years, Netflix has championed a strategy built on direct-to-streaming releases, prompting Sarandos to boast Netflix is saving Hollywood by liberating it from the constraints of theatrical windows. But the success of Lilo & Stitch and Final Reckoning complicate that narrative.

Yes, the decline in moviegoing is real. Domestic attendance hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, and audiences have more entertainment options than ever. People now split their time across YouTube, TikTok, mobile games, concerts, podcasts, Twitch streams, and more. In this broader context, it’s not that people have stopped going to the movies. It’s that the bar for what draws them in has gotten much higher. And that’s exactly what Lilo & Stitch and Final Reckoning cleared with ease.

#StitchImpossible Hits Back

Both movies are being marketed as events. Lilo & Stitch leaned into nostalgia and spectacle, using a smart mix of digital nostalgia and influencer rollouts to build anticipation. Disney initially planned to drop the film straight to Disney+, but reversed course after internal models showed they were leaving significant box office money on the table. It turns out, Disney was right. The film’s vibrant animation, comedic heart, and wide-audience appeal has helped it become the summer’s breakout family film already. And now its streaming future looks even brighter.

Similarly, Final Reckoning is turning out to be one of the biggest action tentpoles of the year. The movie was engineered for IMAX and premium formats, the kind of viewing experience you simply can’t replicate on a couch. Its box office numbers were impressive, but the real story might be what happens next. Deadline’s Anthony D’Alessandro reports that the release of MI movies in theaters has translated to streams of older MI movies jumping as audiences revisit, or discover for the first time, a globe-trotting franchise that has spanned decades. D’Alessandro elaborates on how the big screen reawakens interest in the long tail:

Here’s the thing: For Hollywood studios, the value of franchise properties increases with each subsequent installment and across multiple revenue streams. Where new entries have one waterfall, franchise films benefit from an entire library. Paramount celebrated theMission: Impossible franchise across Home Entertainment digital platforms and Paramount+, driving a substantial uptick in views of the previous films on Paramount+ and transactions via Digital Retail partners. I’ve heard that the original 1996 movie alone generates $10M a year from all types of media for the Melrose lot. Hence, that $300M+ movie is a lifelong investment that should pay off heads and tails in TV airings and streams of Final Reckoning.”

That’s the real misunderstanding in Sarandos’s view. Theaters are as much about ignition as they are about monetization. They generate cultural momentum, visibility, and legitimacy that no streaming homepage algorithm can match.

Theatrical Success Drives Streaming Success

Studios are waking up to the reality that today’s biggest theatrical hits create ripple effects that lift entire streaming catalogs. Consider Top Gun: Maverick, which did more than dominate the box office with $1.48 billion in global ticket sales; it ignited a chain reaction across streaming. The film’s theatrical buzz drove a 400% spike in Paramount+ streams of the original Top Gun and a 140% increase in views of the MI franchise, proving that Tom Cruise’s box office power elevated not just one film but his entire streaming catalog. Barbie followed a similar pattern: after grossing $1.4 billion in theaters, it pulled in 4.1 million unique viewers on Max in its first week, or 45% more than Netflix’s Maestro despite Netflix’s larger subscriber base. Even Avengers: Endgame, which premiered on Disney+ in 2019 after a $2.8 billion box office run, continues to drive engagement on Disney+ in 2025.

Even films that underwhelm in the theater can spark streaming success. For example, although Amazon’s Red One earned a modest $80 million in domestic box office receipts, Amazon said that the theatrical campaign amplified the movie’s streaming performance, making it Prime Video’s most-watched debut and achieving 50 million viewers within its first four days.

This symbiotic relationship between theatrical success and streaming performance is now becoming a cornerstone of modern film distribution strategy, with box office triumphs serving as both financial windfalls and cultural catalysts that reverberate across digital platforms. Major studios now tap into strong theatrical performances to negotiate enhanced streaming license fees, using box office grosses as quantifiable proof of audience demand. This model creates a self-reinforcing economic loop: theatrical success justifies premium streaming valuations, while streaming platforms gain proven crowd-pleasers to drive subscriber growth.

Cultural momentum generated by theatrical runs fundamentally alters streaming algorithms’ content prioritization, creating a halo effect that amplifies visibility across platforms. As noted, Top Gun: Maverick’s box office dominance translated into Paramount+ algorithms aggressively promoting not just the sequel, but the entire Tom Cruise filmography. This algorithmic amplification extends beyond direct franchise ties, as evidenced by Barbie’s $1.4 billion theatrical success driving 1.2 million Max households to stream it in its debut week. Theatrical releases essentially function as billion-dollar marketing campaigns that train recommendation engines to prioritize related content, creating sustained streaming engagement cycles.

Franchise cross-pollination has emerged as a byproduct of this model, where new releases systematically rejuvenate interest in legacy content. For instance, when Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes hit theaters in May 2024, Disney-owned Hulu offered subscribers an “exclusive look” at the film. This movie built anticipation for the theatrical release and also encouraged viewers to explore the eight other Planet of the Apes films available in Hulu’s library. When Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes screened in theaters, the film’s visibility then built anticipation for its release on streaming. In 2025, Paramount has strategically positioned all MIfilms on Paramount+ before Final Reckoning’s release, creating an eight-film marathon opportunity. The approach transforms streaming libraries into dynamic franchise ecosystems.

These dynamics are prompting studios to abandon pandemic-era day-and-date release strategies in favor of structured theatrical-to-streaming windows. Paramount’s variable windowing approach with Top Gun: Maverick, delaying streaming availability to maximize both box office returns and subsequent platform engagement, resulted in the film becoming Paramount+’s most-watched premiere while still earning $1.4 billion theatrically. Disney’s decision to pivot Lilo & Stitch from Disney+ exclusive to theatrical release underlines this recalibration, recognizing that staggered releases allow each platform to amplify the other’s results rather than cannibalize it. Joe Early, head of Disney+ and Hulu, told The New York Times, “The better it does in theaters, the better it does on streaming.”

A Moment into a Movement

This doesn’t mean every movie needs a theatrical run. Smaller, niche, or experimental films may still find their best audience on streaming platforms. But when studios have something special, like an emotional, action-packed, or visually stunning experience, releasing it straight to streaming is not always the most strategic move. In fact, it can be a missed opportunity.

Lilo & Stitch and Final Reckoning are proof that theatrical releases can supercharge a film’s life cycle and turn a moment into a movement. In a media landscape flooded with distractions, the theatrical experience can still cut through the noise. Moviegoing isn’t dead. It’s evolving. Streaming may extend a film’s reach, but theaters give it weight.