The “How to Train Your Dragon” movie series has been financially successful overall, with the least profitable title earning an impressive $495.1 million worldwide before its theater run ended. However, the initial box office openings for these films haven’t traditionally been massive. Given this background, the anticipation surrounding the upcoming live-action adaptation is heightened, as it could potentially have the largest opening weekend in the series if it meets current expectations, which is slated to occur this coming weekend.
Beginning this Friday, the newly remade movie featuring Mason Thames, Gerard Butler, and Nico Parker will kick off its theater release. Predictions suggest a domestic earnings of around $65-75 million, which is seen as quite conservative. Although this figure won’t place the film among the biggest domestic debuts in 2025, given the impressive openings of “A Minecraft Movie” ($162.8 million) and “Lilo & Stitch” ($146 million), if sales reach the higher end of the estimate, it could secure a spot among the Top 5.
Regardless of whether the live-action How to Train Your Dragon manages to earn only $65 million during its first weekend, it will still mark the strongest debut for any film in the series within the U.S. and Canada. Compared to the original animated movie’s opening haul of $43.7 million back in March 2010, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World brought in $49.5 million (in June 2014) and $55 million (in February 2019), respectively.
The recently released adaptation of “How To Train Your Dragon” has garnered generally positive reviews from critics, but it has also been met with criticism due to its excessive similarity to the original animated movie and its failure to offer an explanation for why a remake was necessary. Regarding this point, it’s worth noting that young audiences who haven’t seen the animated version won’t be making comparisons, and they are the primary audience for the film.
Worldwide, it’s anticipated that “How To Train Your Dragon” will perform exceptionally well outside its home region, given that the entire animated trilogy earned more revenue from foreign markets compared to domestic box office. Predictions for the 2025 movie indicate a potential earnings of $175-185 million by Sunday’s end, marking a promising beginning for a film rumored to have cost around $150 million (excluding advertising and promotional expenses).
In movie theaters, the stiffest challenge that “How To Train Your Dragon” may encounter is “Lilo & Stitch”, which has held the top spot in the Top 10 for three consecutive weekends now. Don’t forget to visit us here at TopMob on Sunday for my box office column, where we’ll discuss how the performance of one live-action remake influences another.
Read More
2025-06-12 01:10