Stitch Becomes Disney’s Breakout Franchise of 2025 With Reported $5 Billion Year
A disciplined film-to-merchandise flywheel turned a long-running supporting figure into a global sales engine.
Overview
- The live-action Lilo & Stitch remake earned about $1.04 billion worldwide and drew 14.3 million Disney+ views in its first five days.
- Disney says Stitch consumer products surpassed $4 billion in retail sales during fiscal 2025, among the company’s largest single-character tallies.
- Coverage reports that, when combined with licensing, parks and digital revenue, the character’s 2025 contribution exceeded $5 billion.
- Disney elevated the character’s public profile by having him lead the Holiday Magic Tour in more than 20 U.S. cities and stage a Dec. 10 Toys for Tots moment on Broadway.
- Executives publicly lauded the performance, with a sequel reported to be in development and reporting that OpenAI’s Sora will include the character for user-created videos.