How To Train Your Dragon tops US box office: Crosses a major milestone over the weekend

Dean DeBlois' live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake was again on top of the weekend box office charts, adding $37 million to its domestic tally. All in all, it has now crossed $350 million globally, becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2025. At this pace, it is likely to break some more records and climb higher on the charts.

Its next target should be $400 million. Reaching there will put it ahead of Thunderbolts* (now The New Avengers) and Sinners, which are currently sitting with $381 million and $363 million, respectively. Then it can look forward to competing with Captain America: Brave New World ($415 million) and Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning ($540 million).

Looking at the peak, we have Lilo & Stitch and A Minecraft Movie claiming 3rd and second places with $910 million and $953 million earned at the global box office already. Ne Zha 2 is on the absolute top with $1.9 billion, and no film is currently looking prominent enough to break that record.

How to Train Your Dragon live-action outperformed the original animated films

The latest film in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise is looking great, critically and commercially. In addition to that, it has also outperformed the animated ones released between 2010 and 2019. It opened with $84.6 million at the domestic box office, making it the best opening in the franchise.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) opened with $43.7 million and went on to earn $494 million at the global box office. It is currently holding the best critical score in the franchise, with 99% critics approval, according to Rotten Tomatoes. The latest live-action film has 77% critics approval as of now.

The sequel to the original animated film came out in 2014 and made $49.4 million in its first weekend. It then earned $621.5 million at the global box office, which is currently the highest in the entire franchise. However, the latest film is likely to break this by the end of its theatrical run.

The last film, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, concluded the animated trilogy in 2019, opening with $55 million and earning $521.7 million all in all.

If we keep their second weekends in perspective, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon is still outperforming them. Against the latest movie's $37 million, the 2010, 2014, and 2019 films earned $29 million, $24 million, and $30 million, respectively.

How was the domestic box office looking on Sunday?

While How to Train Your Dragon took the lead on Sunday with $11.6 million, we also got to see some strong competition on the day. Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later earned $7 million, while Disney's Elio made $5.4 million.

Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning are now 31 days into release, so it's natural to see a bit of a low in their respective earnings, which were $2.9 million and $2 million, respectively.

The other two films that made it to the million-dollar club on Sunday were Ana De Armas-led Ballerina and Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, and Dakota Johnson-led Materialists, making $1.3 million and $1.6 million, respectively.