The live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonremake has been one of the most successful movies of the year and has broken several significant box office records. After directing all three of the animatedHow to Train Your Dragonmovies, director Dean DeBlois returned to bring the island of Berk and characters like Hiccup, Astrid, and Stoick to life in live-action.
The newHow to Train Your Dragonfaithfully adapts the 2010 animated film, which is generally considered a modern classic. The critical response couldn’t top the first film, which has a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, butreviews for theHow to Train Your Dragonremakehave still been great, withScreen Rant’s Sarah Moran giving it an 8 out of 10 stars.
How to Train Your Dragoncan now be watched on digital, but seeing the movie in theaters was an incredible experience. The stunning cinematography, exceptional acting, and compelling story are the reasons people flocked to theaters to watch it, making it one of the year’s most popular films. In fact,it even broke a number of box office records, making its achievements even more impressive.
5It’s The Highest-Grossing Movie In The Entire Franchise
Throughout its theatrical run,the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonmanaged to gross a total of $623 million at the worldwide box office(viaBox Office Mojo). As of this writing, this impressive box office haul makes it the fifth highest-grossing movie of the year. The only films it sits below areJurassic World Rebirth,A Minecraft Movie,Lilo & Stitch, andNe Zha 2.
Towards the end of its theatrical run,the live-action remake managed to surpass 2014’sHow to Train Your Dragon 2, which grossed $621 million globally. Meanwhile, the original 2010 film made $494 million, and 2019’sHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which concluded the animated trilogy, made $539 million. Even if the third dipped a bit, this shows the enduring strength of the franchise.
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These numbers prove thattheHow to Train Your Dragonfranchise has always been successful at the box office. However, many years after the release of the original movie, it’s an achievement that the live-action remake was able to become the highest-grossing film in the franchise.How to Train Your Dragon’s box office haul undoubtedly bodes well for the future.
If anybody doubted thatHow to Train Your Dragonwas going to be a box office hit, they were immediately proven wrong during its opening weekend. After hitting theaters on June 13,the remake managed to gross an outstanding $84 million at the domestic box officeduring its opening weekend. This was well ahead of initial expectations, which projected the movie as opening to $60-$80 million.
To compare,the first animated movie made $43 million domestically in its opening weekend,How to Train Your Dragon 2made $49 million, andThe Hidden Worldmade $55 million. None of the opening weekends of the animated movies even come close to the remake, proving that audiences are still eager to see the island of Berk and its inhabitants on the big screen.
In addition to its domestic opening weekend box office haul, theHow to Train Your Dragonremake made $113 million in international markets during its first three days in theaters. The remake grossed $197 million globally during its opening weekend,which is nearly one-third of its total box office haul. Clearly, this was an outstanding start toHow to Train Your Dragon’s theatrical run.
3It’s The Franchise’s Highest-Grossing Movie At The Domestic Box Office
Even thoughHow to Train Your Dragonwas a hit in international markets, it failed to surpass the second and third animated movies.The live-action remake grossed a total of $361 million internationally, whereasHow to Train Your Dragon 2made $444 million andThe Hidden Worldmade $379 million, suggesting there isn’t as much nostalgic pull for these movies overseas.
However,it did manage to become the franchise’s highest-grossing movie at the domestic box office. Out ofHow to Train Your Dragon’s total haul, $261 million came from the domestic box office. Meanwhile, the original movie earned $217 million domestically, the 2014 sequel made $177 million, and the trilogy-capper raked in $160 million.
To date,How to Train Your Dragonremains the sixth-highest-grossing movieof the year at the domestic box office, standing above some major tentpoles likeCaptain America: Brave New WorldandMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Though it will likely lose this spot by the end of the year, it will spend a significant amount of time in the top 10.
These figures prove that, despite performing very well in international markets, the animated trilogy trended downwards at the domestic box office, which isn’t an uncommon occurrence with franchises. Thankfully,theHow to Train Your Dragonlive-action remake blew these films out of the water at the domestic box officeand proved that Americans still want to see this franchise on the big screen.
2It’s Gerard Butler’s Highest-Grossing Movie Ever
For the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragon, Gerard Butler reprised his role as Stoick the Vast, who leads the Vikings on the island of Berk. Butler originally voiced Stoick in all three animated films, and his performance ensured that he’s among the franchise’s best characters. It’s impossible to imagine anyone else as Stoick, so it’s a relief that Butler wanted to play the character in live-action.
Reprising his role paid off for the actor, sinceHow to Train Your Dragonhas become the highest-grossing movie of Butler’s career. Over his three decades as an actor,Butler has starred in plenty of commercial successes. Other thanHow to Train Your Dragon, his most successful movies include300,London Has Fallen,Geostorm, andThe Ugly Truth.
Even though he is very well-known for theHas Fallenseries, the fact that the live-action remake is the highest-grossing movie of his career proves thatHow to Train Your Dragoncould be remembered as Butler’s definitive franchise.
Butler will also return in theupcomingHow to Train Your Dragon 2, which will also likely be a major box office hit. It could even replace the 2025 movie as his biggest film, though that will depend on goodwill towards the franchise remaining high over the next couple years.
1It’s Dean DeBlois' Highest-Grossing Movie Ever
TheHow to Train Your Dragonremake isalso a major milestone for director Dean DeBlois, earning more than any of his previous movies have. He is clearly incredibly passionate about the franchise, and this record proves that adapting the first movie into live-action was a great decision. It also suggests he’ll stick around for the franchise’s future.
Other than theHow to Train Your Dragonmovies,DeBlois' only other major theatrical release was the 2002 animated movieLilo & Stitch, which he co-directed alongside Chris Sanders. In total,Lilo & Stitch, which is also considered a modern classic, grossed $274 million at the worldwide box office (viaBox Office Mojo).
After the success of the first live-action entry in the franchise,it’s very exciting to see what DeBlois will do withHow to Train Your Dragon 2, which he will also direct. The second live-action movie is currently scheduled to hit theaters in June 2027. DeBlois will likely continue to find success at the box office and further prove how passionate he is about theHow to Train Your Dragonfranchise.
