Lilo & Stitch Tracking Looks Good But No Captain Gantu?

The highly anticipated live-action remake of “Lilo & Stitch” is just days away. Current tracking puts the film at an opening of $120 million for the 4-day holiday weekend. However, it has been revealed that Captain Gantu will not appear in the film.

Tracking Estimates

So far, most outlets are reporting that “Lilo & Stitch” will open to a $120 million domestic total.

Box Office Pro has the long-range forecast for the film at $140-$170 million for three days and $170-$210 million for four days. These numbers may be for the global box office and not just domestic. It wasn’t clear.

Fandango said that “Lilo & Stitch” was the top PG pre-seller of 2025 (not exactly a big win). It is also had higher pre-sale tickets since “The Lion King” in 2019.

However, some controversies may hurt the film,

Early on, some were upset about the casting of Nani, saying the actress was too light-skinned for the character. Most of that has blown over, but now, new issues have ruffled some fans’ feathers.

No Gantu.

It has come to light from early viewers that Captain Gantu may not be in this version.

Gantu was sent to capture Stitch and accidentally takes Lilo as well.

Honestly, Gantu could be removed from the storyline without too much changing, but many people love the character. His removal, if true, is probably due to money. Pleakley and Jumba are in human form a lot, likely to keep the costs down. Gantu would require a lot of CGI work which would cost a lot more.

The review embargo isn’t up until May 20, 2025, so maybe we will learn more about Gantu’s fate then?

Previously, sites like the Dis Insider said that he would be returning with the original voice actor, Kevin Michael Richardson.

I’m holding out hope that he is still in the film.

Pleakley

The other controversy has been around Pleakley not appearing in a dress.

In the first film, and subsequent show, Pleakley is often shown dressed as a woman with wigs, jewelry, and dresses.

Previously, director Dean Fleischer Camp indicated he was not allowed to put the character in a dress. He showed concept art of the drag look with the words “I tried” on the image.

These are mostly minor controversies when compared to the ones around the live-action “Snow White” film.

“Lilo & Stitch” has a great chance at a big box office run. I just hope Disney doesn’t start green-lighting more remakes over it. For every “Lilo & Stitch” there are a few “Snow White” failures.

What do you think? Comment and let us know!