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.
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday inspected a thermal power plant in Kyiv that was damaged during overnight Russian attacks, as Ukraine accused Moscow of exploiting an energy truce to intensify its military campaign.
Cuba’s Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío has denied that Havana and Washington have entered formal negotiations, countering recent assertions by U.S. President Donald Trump, while saying the island is open to dialogue under certain conditions.
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The United States accused Cuba of interfering with the work of its top diplomat in Havana on Sunday (1 February) after small groups of Cubans jeered at him during meetings with residents and church representatives.
A daylight robbery at a jewellery shop in Richmond, one of London’s most affluent and traditionally quiet districts, has heightened security concerns among residents and local businesses.
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Early voting for Thailand’s parliamentary elections began on Sunday (1 February), with more than two million eligible voters casting ballots nationwide ahead of the 8 February general election, as authorities acknowledged errors and irregularities at some polling stations.
A restored angel in a Rome basilica has prompted political scrutiny after reports that its face now resembles Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Melania, the new documentary about the U.S. First Lady Melania Trump that premiered Thursday, is drawing sharply contrasting reactions. Professional critics have slammed the film, giving it a 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, while ordinary viewers have embraced it, with audience ratings currently at 99%.
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American rapper Ye, formerly Kanye West, has apologised for his past antisemitic remarks in a full-page Wall Street Journal ad, attributing his behaviour to an undiagnosed brain injury and bipolar disorder.
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