The dragons are back—and breathing fire at the box office. Universal and DreamWorks’ live-action How to Train Your Dragon torched expectations this weekend, soaring to an $83.7 million domestic opening and setting a new franchise record. That number easily topped 2019’s The Hidden World, which debuted with $55 million, marking a triumphant return for a franchise long beloved by fans.
Despite the film’s impressive debut, it couldn’t quite match the overall box office heights of this same weekend in 2024, when Disney’s Inside Out 2 opened to a staggering $154.2 million and pushed the total weekend take to $213.9 million. Still, Dragon helped bring this weekend’s haul to a solid $151.7 million, with strong year-over-year growth continuing across the second quarter thanks to earlier hits like A Minecraft Movie and Lilo & Stitch.
The new Dragon marks a strategic IP revival from Universal, borrowing Disney’s playbook by translating a popular animated series into a big-budget live-action spectacle. And it’s paying off: with a reported production budget of $200 million, the film is off to a flying start toward matching or exceeding the worldwide grosses of its predecessors, especially 2014’s How to Train Your Dragon 2, which hit $621.5 million globally.
Fan-favorite filmmaker Dean DeBlois, who directed and co-wrote all three animated Dragon films, returns to write, direct, and produce the live-action version. Gerard Butler reprises his role as Stoick the Vast, and composer John Powell is back to score the film, ensuring plenty of connective tissue for longtime fans.
The marketing campaign spanned the Super Bowl, CinemaCon, IMAX-exclusive trailers, and a Burger King cross-promotion—complete with Night Fury-themed flame-grilled menu items. Spin Master also launched a toy line, while Universal released the film in premium formats like IMAX, ScreenX, and 4DX.
Critics are a bit more lukewarm this time around, with the film landing a 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. But audiences seem spellbound, awarding it a sky-high 98%. Reviewers from The Washington Post and Variety praised the film’s emotional moments and aerial set pieces, while others like The New York Post noted weaker humor and dialogue. Still, the consensus is that this remake is reverent, accessible, and crowd-pleasing.
With this record-breaking launch, Universal has already dated a sequel for June 11, 2027.
‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Franchise by the Numbers:
| Film | Opening Weekend | Production Budget | RT Critics | RT Audience | Worldwide Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HTTYD (2025) | $83.7M | $200M | 77% | 98% | TBD |
| HTTYD (2010) | $43.7M | $165M | 99% | 91% | $494.9M |
| HTTYD 2 (2014) | $49.5M | $145M | 92% | 90% | $621.5M |
| The Hidden World (2019) | $55.0M | $129M | 90% | 87% | $540.0M |
Meanwhile, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch slipped to second place after three weeks at No. 1, earning $15.5 million this weekend for a domestic cume of $366.4 million and $858.4 million worldwide. Together, Dragon and Lilo & Stitch accounted for 65% of this weekend’s domestic box office—a strong showing for family fare in a market hungry for crowd-pleasers.
More Box Office Highlights:
3rd Place: Materialists (A24) – $12M debut
- Director: Celine Song (Past Lives)
- Stars: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal
- RT Critics: 87%, Audience: 70%
4th Place: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount) – $10.3M, $166.3M domestic to date
- RT Critics: 80%, Audience: 89%
- Budget: $400M (!!)
5th Place: Ballerina (Lionsgate) – $9.4M, $41.8M domestic / $91.5M worldwide
- RT Critics: Mixed, Audience: 94%
- Outlook: A rare miss in the John Wick universe
With Elio and 28 Years Later on the horizon next weekend, the summer movie season is in full swing—and How to Train Your Dragon just proved that when it comes to box office firepower, nostalgia (and Toothless) still rule.
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