Disney’s Lilo & Stitch remake and Tom Cruise’s supposed farewell in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning have stormed the global box office, marking one of the biggest opening weekends of the year.
Disney’s live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch has surpassed expectations with an impressive $341 million in global takings, making it the second-highest opening of 2025 so far—just behind A Minecraft Movie. The film also broke the record for the US Memorial Day weekend.
The reimagining of the beloved 2002 animated classic features Courtney B. Vance, Zach Galifianakis, and eight-year-old newcomer Maia Kealoha, alongside a computer-generated Stitch. While the film has earned praise from some critics as “jovial, zany, and sweet” (The Daily Beast), others were less kind, with The Times calling it a “mind-numbing abomination.”
Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the eighth installment in the long-running franchise, opened to $190 million globally. Tom Cruise, who has played agent Ethan Hunt since 1996, hinted this would be his final appearance, telling the Hollywood Reporter, “It’s the final! It’s not called ‘final’ for nothing.” Still, fans remain skeptical that Cruise’s action days are truly over.
The film has received mixed but largely positive reviews, with The Guardian awarding it five stars and calling it a “wildly entertaining adventure,” while Vanity Fair hailed it as a “worthy send-off.” However, some critics were less enthusiastic; Mashable warned that the franchise risked ending with the “fizzled whimper of a message self-destructing in a tape deck.”
Together, the two blockbusters have reinvigorated the summer movie season, suggesting that despite mixed critical receptions, big-name franchises and nostalgic reboots continue to draw massive audiences.
Saudi Arabia’s air defences have intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone over the Riyadh region, according to the Saudi-led coalition fight...
Police were deployed across Paris on Saturday, as a curfew was set to take effect in the Republique and Chât...
A drone strike hit a power station in northern Sudan early Sunday (1 November), sparking a fire and triggering loud explosions, witnesses said....
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered Iran's armed forces to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical limits in statements posted to social media platforms on Saturday (31 October).
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London.
A Chinese-made AI chip has matched Nvidia’s H200 in tests conducted by its developer, marking a potential breakthrough in China’s efforts to reduce its dependence on foreign technology.
A hacking group linked to North Korea is widely believed to be behind the theft of $6.3 billion from cryptocurrency giant Binance, a cyberattack that experts describe as the largest cryptocurrency heist on record.
Australia has returned two ancient stone statue heads to China, more than 30 years after they were taken from imperial tombs in central China.
Uzbekistan is launching a new fashion academy in Tashkent to help local clothing manufacturers build their own brands, sharpen design skills and compete in international markets.
Baku is set to host the second “Fly to Baku” Art Weekend from 30 October to 1 November, bringing together Azerbaijani and international artists to explore the Caucasus’ wildlife and cultural heritage, and the need to protect nature.
A rare 67-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton known as “Jodi” has sold for $47.3 million at Sotheby’s in New York, smashing its pre-sale estimate and becoming the second-most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold at auction.
Iran is looking to turn its centuries-old tea culture into an opportunity for trade, industrial development and tourism as it held the Second Tea Festival in the northern province of Gilan bordering the Caspian Sea.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment