‘How to Train Your Dragon' Tops Box Office With $83 Million
The dragon stuck his landing.
Universal's live-action 'How to Train Your Dragon' remake, about a young Viking and his winged sidekick, Toothless, will take in about $83 million at North American theaters from Thursday through Sunday, box office analysts said. Based on advance ticket sales and surveys that track moviegoer interest, analysts had expected the film to sell closer to $70 million.
The PG-rated movie, which cost at least $250 million to make and market, was on pace to collect an additional $118 million overseas, for a worldwide opening-weekend total of roughly $201 million. Reviews were mostly positive.
Universal and its parent company, NBCUniversal, have been counting on 'How to Train Your Dragon' to do more than revive a theatrical franchise dormant since 2019. The characters are a prominent part of an ambitious expansion at the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. NBCUniversal has also been trying to build 'How to Train Your Dragon' into a bigger consumer products business.
In other words, nothing short of blockbuster opening-weekend ticket sales for the new movie would do — and families cooperated.
All of a sudden, live-action PG movies have been propping up the movie business. 'A Minecraft Movie,' released by Warner Bros. in April, has sold a colossal $952 million in tickets worldwide. Disney's live-action 'Lilo & Stitch' remake has taken in more than $800 million since arriving late last month.
PG movies (especially live-action ones) have long been viewed by Hollywood as somewhat limited in box office appeal: It's better to go for a broader audience — teenagers and older adults in addition to families — by making movies that get a PG-13 rating. Studios made 771 movies with the edgier rating from 2019 to 2024, according to The Numbers, a box office database. There were 467 rated PG over the same period, and many were animated.
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