Weekly Unaided Awareness Chart – THUNDERBOLTS* (Finally) Makes Its Debut Along With MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE And LILO & STITCH

The Weekly Unaided Awareness Chart includes any film more than six weeks from release, registering at least 1% unaided awareness (UA). This metric is highly correlated to opening weekend gross. Early signs of UA more than six weeks out often translate to box office success upon release.

A rising tide lifts all ships. The same is true for movies. When lots of people go to the theater, they are exposed to posters in the hallways and trailers before the feature. That, in turn, leads to increased unaided awareness.

A full 11 weeks after Disney released the first trailer (and a month after trailer #2), THUNDERBOLTS* finally debuts in the Weekly Unaided Awareness Chart. We knew it would happen at some point, but given the low overall awareness levels, we suspected it would happen closer to its May release.

Though less dramatic, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING debuts almost a month after the campaign launched in early November. Faithful readers know it is common for a film to debut on the chart immediately after a trailer and then fall off in week two. What’s less common is to see a film chart a few weeks after a trailer. Kudos to MISSION for bucking that trend.

Speaking of arriving and immediately falling off, that’s precisely what happened with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. It appeared last week and slipped below 1% two weeks after its trailer. In its place, LILO & STITCH makes an impressive debut. Sharing the same May 23rd date as MISSION, Memorial Day 2025 is shaping up to be an epic battle.

Elsewhere, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 leaps ahead of MUFASA: THE LION KING to take the top spot with 8% unaided. Y2K ends its run at 2%.