Nobody Expected How To Train Your Dragon to Open THIS Big
The live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake just crossed $206 million at the global box office, and it's not even done with week one.
That's $93 million domestic and $113 million overseas. Not bad for a remake everyone claimed nobody asked for.
It opened to a massive $84 million weekend—nearly double the debut of the original 2010 animated film—and became the No. 1 movie of the weekend. It's now the tenth film of 2025 to cross the $200 million mark, and the only one so far that involves a kid riding a Night Fury.
The film comes from Dean DeBlois, who directed the original trilogy and clearly knew not to mess with a good thing. Despite early grumbling about the casting and the usual "why does this need to exist" discourse, critics and audiences mostly agree it's surprisingly faithful—and good.
Yes, the budget was steep at $150 million, so technically it hasn't gone into profit just yet. But give it one more weekend and it'll be in the black, just in time to go up against 28 Years Later and Pixar's Elio. Zombie apocalypse? Talking alien kid? Toothless isn't sweating.
The Numbers Game
To put things in perspective, here's how the new film stacks up against the animated trilogy:
- How to Train Your Dragon (2010) – $495M
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) – $614M
- The Hidden World (2019) – $520M
- Live-action remake (2025) – $206M… and counting
Right now, the remake is pacing faster than all three original films. The only real question is whether it can catch Dragon 2, which still holds the crown with $614 million worldwide. That might be a stretch given the crowded summer slate, but it's not impossible.
So... What's Next?
Universal and DreamWorks already greenlit How to Train Your Dragon 2—the live-action version—before this one even came out. It's set for June 2027, with DeBlois returning and the script already underway. Based on how this first one's performing, you can bet the trilogy remake is basically a lock.
Even with some early backlash over character redesigns and casting choices, audiences have shown up in droves. The "controversial creative decisions" are quickly becoming footnotes in what now looks like one of 2025's biggest box office wins.
So yeah, the dragons are back, they're making bank, and they're not going anywhere.