Initially, when midweek estimates for Dean DeBlois’ live-action remake of “How To Train Your Dragon” were shared, the general sentiment was “cautious.” Predictions suggested the film would earn around $65-$75 million domestically, but these figures were accompanied by a disclaimer indicating that the numbers could potentially be much higher. Fast forward to now, and it appears those predictions may have been overly modest, as the early box office returns show a more optimistic performance than initially anticipated.
Over the weekend, Dean Fleischer Camp’s “Lilo & Stitch” has maintained its box office lead since its release before Memorial Day. However, a live-action remake has triumphed over another as “How To Train Your Dragon” now ranks as the top movie in the United States and Canada. Here are the initial results for your perusal, and I’ll see you later for some analysis.
| TITLE | WEEKEND GROSS | DOMESTIC GROSS | LW | THTRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. How To Train Your Dragon* | $83,700,000 | $83,700,000 | N/A | 4,356 |
| 2. Lilo & Stitch | $15,500,000 | $366,371,809 | 1 | 3,675 |
| 3. Materialists* | $12,000,424 | $12,000,424 | N/A | 2,844 |
| 4. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | $10,300,000 | $166,316,000 | 3 | 2,942 |
| 5. From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina | $9,400,000 | $41,832,000 | 2 | 3,409 |
| 6. Karate Kid: Legends | $5,000,000 | $44,153,000 | 4 | 3,008 |
| 7. Final Destination: Bloodlines | $3,900,000 | $130,648,000 | 5 | 2,138 |
| 8. The Phoenician Scheme | $3,050,000 | $12,777,000 | 6 | 1,731 |
| 9. The Life Of Chuck | $2,144,250 | $2,441,423 | 18 | 1,072 |
| 10. Sinners | $1,470,000 | $275,484,000 | 9 | 951 |
Family Movies Continue To Perform Well At The Box Office As How To Train Your Dragon Soars
In the first weekend of May, How to Train Your Dragon managed to secure the fourth-largest opening weekend in 2025 so far by earning an impressive $83.7 million over three days. Notably, only a few recent blockbusters have surpassed these figures: Jared Hess’ A Minecraft Movie ($162.8 million), Lilo & Stitch ($146 million), and Julius Onah’s Captain America: Brave New World ($88.8 million). Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts (a.k.a. New Avengers) during its debut did not outshine these results.
According to The Numbers, the sales of the new “How To Train Your Dragon” remake are notable not just for outperforming other major releases in 2025, but also for surpassing the box office performance of earlier animated titles within the same franchise. Since Dean DuBlois’ first “How To Train Your Dragon” film hit cinemas in 2010, the series hasn’t been known for achieving high domestic opening weekend grosses. The original movie earned $43.7 million in its initial three days, followed by $49.5 million for “How To Train Your Dragon 2” four years later, and wrapping up with “How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” making $55 million upon release in 2019.
The live-action reboot is off to a more promising beginning than any of its predecessors, and it remains to be seen how high it will climb (if I may use a play on words) in terms of box office performance over the summer. It seems that this film is on track to surpass the earnings of all the titles in the animated trilogy, with each title being a box office success that made at least $160.8 million domestically (the 2010 movie currently leads with a total of $217.9 million). If it manages to earn as much money as the highest-grossing domestic release in the franchise, How To Train Your Dragon could potentially become the fourth highest-grossing blockbuster of 2025 thus far.
In our current conversation, it’s crucial to keep in mind that financial aspects are also relevant. According to Deadline, the initial expenses for publicity and promotion for the live-action remake amounted to $150 million. This is lower than the original’s budget of $165 million.
Or, more concisely:
The live-action remake spent less on pre-release marketing and promotions ($150M) compared to its source material’s production cost ($165M), as per Deadline’s report.
So far, our conversation has primarily focused on training dragons in the U.S. and Canada, but it’s important to note that this franchise is more successful internationally than it is at home. The upcoming 2025 film seems to be following this trend, as evidenced by its earnings. Over the weekend, the movie raked in $114.1 million in foreign markets, adding to its domestic ticket sales, resulting in a global total of $197.8 million so far.
The main ambition of this movie is to outperform the box office revenue of “How To Train Your Dragon 2,” which amassed an impressive $614.6 million during its global theater run. So far, the latest installment seems to be on the right track towards achieving that goal.
The question of how it will handle upcoming competition is a major uncertainty. Unlike Lilo & Stitch, which had several weeks without any competing titles aimed at its young audience, How To Train Your Dragon doesn’t have that advantage due to the release of Elio by Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, and Domee Shi from Pixar this coming Friday.
Lilo & Stitch Holds On To Second Place And Has Crossed $800 Million Worldwide
If the success of How To Train Your Dragon continues in the upcoming weeks seems likely, it’s because Lilo & Stitch hasn’t been completely overshadowed by the arrival of the new movie in town. Despite a 52% decrease in ticket sales from one week to the next (to put it accurately), Lilo & Stitch still earned an additional $15.5 million at the domestic box office.
The movie continues to perform well, having earned over $366.4 million domestically, surpassing the total worldwide earnings of the original film from 2002 ($245.8 million). This puts it in the running for the second highest-grossing domestic film of 2025 so far. It’s also approaching the $423.7 million earned by A Minecraft Movie during its theatrical run.
Much like How To Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch has continued to excel overseas and has now surpassed $810.5 million globally. However, it needs to earn approximately $61 million more to match A Minecraft Movie’s earnings. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned in this box office column, it won’t come close to the staggering $2 billion that Ne Zha 2 made in China during the early months of 2025.
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2025-06-15 22:09