Universal’s adaptation of DreamWorks Animation’s beloved franchise ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ is proving to be a major box office success, opening with a remarkable $83.7 million domestically and an impressive $197.8 million worldwide in its debut weekend, as per Sunday’s estimates.
The film’s international performance has also been noteworthy, bringing in an astonishing $114.1 million from 81 different markets, highlighting its global appeal.
Audiences have responded enthusiastically, evidenced by a stellar A CinemaScore and an outstanding 98 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
This live-action spectacle has managed to resonate with both families and younger adults, particularly those who grew up with the original animated series, paralleling the success seen by Disney’s recent live-action adaptations like ‘Lilo & Stitch.’
Almost half of the individuals who flocked to theaters on Friday were Gen Zers aged between 13 and 24, indicating a strong connection to the source material.
This live-action version marks a significant milestone as it is the first time DreamWorks Animation, now part of Universal, has ventured into this territory, with a sequel already slated for release in 2027.
The movie’s debut places it among the top-10 openings for live-action adaptations, ranking as the seventh-highest globally, the eighth domestically, and sixth internationally.
The international markets reported outstanding earnings, led by Mexico at an impressive $14 million, followed by the U.K. with $11.4 million, and China with $11.2 million.
In fact, the film surpassed ‘Lilo & Stitch’ to claim the title of the largest opening day for a live-action adaptation in the past five years.
The film also achieved the best non-holiday opening for any Hollywood film released in 2025.
This strong performance has been driven by the movie’s exceptional social media scores, leading to a significant increase from Friday to Saturday, setting a record for the best Friday-Saturday gain of the year.
In North America, ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ has achieved the eighth-best opening ever for Father’s Day weekend and the fourth-largest opening thus far in 2025.
Some industry observers are projecting a final domestic tally closer to $86 million, with definitive numbers to be announced on Monday.
Dean DeBlois, who directed the original 2010 animated feature, returned for this live-action remake, which tells the story of Hiccup (Mason Thames), a young Viking boy who befriends a dragon named Toothless against his father’s wishes (Gerard Butler).
The film had a production budget of $150 million, excluding marketing expenses.
In its premiere, ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ led the North American box office with a powerful $35.6 million from 4,356 theaters, including $11.1 million from early screenings.
Though it fell short of the original film’s opening weekend gross of $43.7 million (unadjusted for inflation), it easily surpassed the previous film in the franchise, 2019’s ‘How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,’ which opened to $55 million.
After three weeks at the top of the box office, Disney’s ‘Lilo & Stitch’ slipped to second place domestically, taking in an estimated $15.5 million from 3,675 cinemas.
The film also earned an additional $31.1 million internationally, bringing its total gross past the $850 million mark worldwide.
As of now, ‘Lilo & Stitch’ has accrued $366.4 million domestically and $492 million internationally, giving it a grand total of $858.4 million, making it the second highest-grossing film of the year behind ‘A Minecraft Movie’ with $950 million.
Remarkably, ‘Lilo & Stitch’ has outperformed the entire domestic runs of previous live-action adaptations like ‘The Jungle Book’ ($364 million) and ‘Aladdin’ ($356 million), not adjusted for inflation.
The weekend also witnessed the launch of a new film, ‘Materialists,’ directed by Celine Song, which opened in third place with a better-than-anticipated $12 million from 2,844 cinemas.
This performance marks A24’s third-largest opening, positioned behind ‘Civil War’ ($25.5 million) and ‘Hereditary’ ($13.5 million), unadjusted.
Song’s project features Dakota Johnson as a New York matchmaker who becomes involved in a complicated love triangle with Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal.
While critics have responded positively to ‘Materialists,’ audiences were not as enthusiastic, leading to a B- CinemaScore and only a 70 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Despite this, A24 remains optimistic that strong critical reviews will help maintain audience interest over time.
‘How to Train Your Dragon’ benefited significantly from attracting Imax screens, which had previously been occupied by ‘Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning’ for three weekends.
Meanwhile, that film only experienced a modest 31 percent drop in its fourth weekend, earning $10.3 million from 2,942 theaters for a domestic total of $166.3 million.
Globally, ‘Mission: Impossible’ crossed the $500 million mark, with an international total of $340.5 million and a worldwide sum of $506.8 million.
Adding to the box office landscape, Lionsgate’s ‘John Wick’ spinoff ‘Ballerina’ took a hit in its second weekend, falling 62 percent to an estimated $9.4 million for a 10-day domestic tally of $41.8 million.
Internationally, ‘Ballerina’ brought in another $13.5 million across 84 markets, resulting in an international total of $49.7 million and a global gross of $91.5 million.
The film had a production budget of $90 million prior to marketing.
As the summer movie season continues, ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ stands out as a significant player at the box office, setting a promising tone for the upcoming months.
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