Universal and DreamWorks’ HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON won the weekend by taking in $83.7M and setting a new franchise record, topping the $55M opening of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD in 2019.
This led all films in release to a weekend total box office of $151.7M. As strong as DRAGON’s opening was, it was unable to raise the weekend total for all films to the level achieved last year on this weekend when Disney’s INSIDE OUT 2 opened with $154.2M and boosted all films to a very healthy $213.9M. This was only the second time in the eleven weekends so far in the second quarter this year that the total box office came in lower than in the matching weekend last year.
This was entirely predictable given the unique strength of INSIDE OUT 2. Still, overall results for the second quarter have been great, starting with the April 4th opening of Warner Bros.’ A MINECRAFT MOVIE. This year’s second quarter is up 62% over last year’s, completely reversing the narrative that had set in after the disappointing start to 2025.
INSIDE OUT 2 was always going to be a hard act to follow, and this year’s DRAGON has done as well as could have reasonably been expected. Next week’s new movies include Sony’s 28 YEARS LATER and Pixar’s ELIO, which should provide strong competition when measured against last year’s second weekend of INSIDE OUT 2.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is a live-action film based on DreamWorks’ popular animated trilogy franchise of the same name. Universal has taken a page right out of Disney’s playbook by giving a new look to proven IP that has a built-in and eager audience.
The animated HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON trilogy earned $1.7B worldwide after spending a total of $439M on production, yielding a 3.9 to 1 ratio of worldwide sales to production cost. With its $83.7M opening, the latest chapter is well on its way to setting a new franchise record, passing HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2, which earned $621.5M worldwide.
The Universal and DreamWorks team has tried to cover all bases with its move to live-action from its animated roots. Even after a 15-year hiatus, Dean DeBlois has returned to write, direct, and produce the new movie after directing and co-writing the original animated trilogy. No one has played a greater role in the success of the franchise than DeBlois. He certainly knows what the fan base for HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is looking for, and he has delivered it time and time again.
In an interesting twist, his other filmmaking credit is as co-director for the original animated LILO & STITCH in 2002. 23 years later, his live-action DRAGON has knocked out the 2025 live-action version of LILO & STITCH after three weeks in the top spot on the box office charts.
DeBlois takes a shot-by-shot approach to adapting the original animation to live-action, which helps to maintain the character, dialogue, and structure of the original movie’s storyline. For even more continuity, Gerard Butler reprises his animated role as Stoick the Vast. Composer John Powell follows up on his work on the original movies to create a new score for this film.
The marketing campaign began earlier this year with a commercial during the Super Bowl on February 9 and continued with a premiere at the annual CinemaCon exhibitor conference in April. The IMAX trailer dropped in early May, followed on May 27th by Burger King introducing a special “Night Fury Flight” sweepstakes game and unique, themed menu items promoted with the tagline Fire-Breathing Meets Flame-Grilling.
Toy manufacturer Spin Master came out with a line of Dragon-themed action figures, plush toys, and play sets. The film has also been produced in all the latest cinematic formats, including IMAX, ScreenX, 4DX, D-Box, and RealD 3D.
Reviewers loved the three original films by giving out 99%, 92%, and 90% scores respectively on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences were almost as positive with grades of 91%, 90%, and 87%. And while this version has received a somewhat lower critics’ score of 77%, audiences are into it with an amazing 98% rating.
Here are some examples of the critic’s comments. The Washington Post celebrates its emotional resonance and stunning visuals, emphasizing powerful life lessons focusing on empathy and understanding. Toothless resembles a realistic canine, and the aerial sequences soar, making it “a nostalgic revisit and a timely tale for new audiences”. Variety commends the film’s final scenes, describing them as “positively iconic,” and praises the overall visual impact the movie brings.
However, they note the screenplay remains “almost identical” to the original animated version. The Hollywood Reporter describes the remake as one that “honors the charm of the original” and “retains charm but plays it safe.” The remake isn’t deemed essential, but they emphasize it “isn’t an offensive one” either. Finally, The New York Post says that it’s “nice, but doesn’t always soar.”
Strong action scenes, heartfelt friendship moments, and good lead turns are undermined by flat humor, less effective dialogue, and a pedestrian portrayal of adult characters. The production costs of the new movie have soared to $200M, the most expensive in franchise history. At this cost, the bar for profitability will not be reached unless the box office reaches $500M worldwide.
All three of the previous films have come in at around that number. Universal and DreamWorks are so confident that the live-action HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON will be a success that they have already set a date of June 11, 2027, for the release of the next live-action installment. Judging by the record-breaking opening, their enthusiasm seems warranted. Here is how the new movie compares to the previous three animated films.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025) Live-Action vs. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2010, 2014, 2019) Animated
- HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (6/13/2025) – Domestic Opening $83.7M (4,356 locations), Budget $200M, RT Critics/Audience 77%/98%
- HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (3/26/2010) – Domestic Opening $43.7M (4,055 locations), Domestic Total $217.6M, Worldwide Total $494.9M, Budget $165M, RT Critics/Audience 99%/91%
- HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (6/13/2014) – Domestic Opening $49.5M (4,253 locations), Domestic Total $177.0M, Worldwide Total $621.5M, Budget $145M, RT Critics/Audience 92%/90%
- HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (2/22/2019) – Domestic Opening $55.0M (4,259 locations), Domestic Total $160.9M, Worldwide Total $540.0M, Budget $129M, RT Critics/Audience 90%/87%
Disney’s LILO & STITCH dropped into second place this weekend by earning $15.5M, a decline of 52%. This brings the 24-day total for the film to $366.4M domestic and $858.4M worldwide. Together with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, the two live-action films based on animated originals have accounted for an exceedingly strong 65% of the total domestic box office this weekend.
Family-oriented films are showing their appeal. LILO & STITCH is the second highest-grossing domestic film in 2025 at $366.4M. It will probably fall short of the total earned by A MINECRAFT MOVIE, which holds first place with $423.7M. The movie has been extremely profitable, with a ratio of 14.3 to 1 when comparing worldwide box office to production cost.
LILO & STITCH (2002), LILO & STITCH (2025), and INSIDE OUT 2 (2024) after 24 Days
- LILO & STITCH (5/23/2025) – Domestic Opening $146.0M (4,420 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $63.0M (-57%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $32.5M (-47%), Domestic 4th Weekend $15.5M (-52%), Domestic 24-Day $366.4M, Budget $60M, RT Critics/Audience 72%/93%
- LILO & STITCH (6/21/2002) – Domestic Opening $35.3M/$62.9M* (3,191 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $21.5M/$38.3M* (-39%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $12.6M/$22.5M* (-41%),
Domestic 4th Weekend $8.0M/$14.3M* (-37%), Domestic 24-Day $118.4M/$211.6M*, Domestic Total $145.8M/$260.0M*, Worldwide Total $273.1M/$487.0M*, Budget $80M/$159M*, RT Critics/Audience 86%/78% - INSIDE OUT 2 (6/14/2024) – Domestic Opening $154.2M (4,440 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $101.2M (-34%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $57.5M (-43%), Domestic 4th Weekend $30.3M (-47%), Domestic 24-Day $534.1MM, Domestic Total $653.0M, Worldwide Total $1.699B, Budget $200M, RT Critics/Audience 91%/95%
* Numbers Adjusted for Inflation
A24’s romantic comedy MATERIALISTS finished in third place, with $12.0M in its first three days. This was a surprisingly strong showing. If a romcom does not sound like an A24 film, that may be because they did not make the film but are only handling its distribution in the U.S. A24 is better known for the eclectic EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (2022), the dystopian CIVIL WAR (2024) and horror flicks TALK TO ME (2023) and HERIDITY (2018).
They acquired the distribution rights from Killer Films and 2AM at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, while Sony took on international distribution. The storyline revolves around a young, ambitious New York City matchmaker who finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex. The film examines the complexity of a relationship meeting emotional needs versus the expectations of society.
MATERILISTS is directed by Celine Song, known for making PAST LIVES (2023), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The cast is stellar with Dakota Johnson (50 SHADES OF GRAY from 2015) as Lucy the matchmaker, Chris Evans (AVENGERS from 2012) as John, her charming ex-boyfriend, and Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us) as Harry, her wealthy suitor. The film takes place entirely in New York City, and to the credit of the producers, the film was shot in NYC… not Toronto!… over five weeks in the spring of 2024.
Critics are positive on the movie, with an 87% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences are not as charmed, coming with a 70% score. The Hollywood Reporter describes it as “A refreshingly complex look at modern love, self-worth and the challenges of finding a partner in an unaffordable city, [treating] three points of a romantic triangle with equal integrity and compassion.”
Entertainment Weekly opines, “There’s a version of this film where Lucy would be the villain… But Song is far too smart for that. Instead, she employs the trappings of romance to explore larger questions of marriage, love, and the complexities of gender politics.” Variety describes it as “A sharp and serious social romance full of telling observations about the way we live now.” Finally, NPR said, “Dakota Johnson plays a savvy New York City matchmaker… but the film ultimately fails to reconcile the screwball vigor of a comedy with the emotional oomph of a drama.
The film was made for a very cost-effective $20M, considering the star power of the leads and its New York shooting location. To be profitable, the film will need to gross $50M worldwide. Here is a comparison of director Celine Song’s last two pictures, MATERIALISTS and PAST LIVES, both released by A24.
Celine Song’s MATERIALISTS vs. PAST LIVES
- MATERIALISTS (6/13/2025) – Domestic Opening $12.0M (2,844 locations), Budget $20M, RT Critics/Audience 87%/70%
- PAST LIVES (6/2/2023) – Domestic Opening $232K (906 locations), Domestic Total $11.3M, Worldwide Total $42.7M, Budget $1M, RT Critics/Audience 95%/93%
Finishing in fourth place is Paramount’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, which took in $10.3M and fell 31% in its fourth weekend. The latest movie in the famous spy action series continues to lag behind MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT, the box office leader of the eight MI movies.
At this point, THE FINAL RECKONING’s domestic gross is 92% of FALLOUT’s through the fourth weekend. Another cause for concern is that the international gross is only accounting for 67% of the total gross, while FALLOUT got 73% of its total gross from foreign markets. It’s also worth noting that THE FINAL RECKONING is behind FALLOUT in international box office, even with the new movie earning $50M in China, where FALLOUT never played.
THE FINAL RECKONING may well be the last in the series, and we salute Cruise and Paramount for giving it their all to create a spectacular finale, funding extravagant stunts that have been well-received by audiences. The 83% audience rating says that people enjoyed the film. Still, the $400M budget given to the film was probably a bit extravagant.
In the end, Tom Cruise fans only like Ethan Hunt, whereas they love Pete Mitchell from TOP GUN: MAVERICK. Here is a comparison of THE FINAL RECKONING, FALLOUT, and TOP GUN: MAVERICK after 24 days.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (2025), MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT (2018), and TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022) after 24 Days
- MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (5/23/2025) – Domestic Opening $63.0M (3,857 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $27.3M (-57%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $15.0M (-45%), Domestic 4th Weekend $10.3M (-31%), Domestic 24-Day $166.3M, Production Budget $400M, RT Critics/Audience 80%/90%
- MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT (7/27/2018) – Domestic Opening $61.2M (4,386 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $35.3M (-42%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $19.4M (-45%), Domestic 4th Weekend $10.8M (-44%), Domestic 24-Day $181.0M, Domestic Total $220.2M, Worldwide Total $824.2M, Production Budget $178M, RT Critics/Audience 98%/89%
- TOP GUN: MAVERICK (5/27/2022) – Domestic Opening $126.7M (4,735 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $90.0M (-29%), Domestic 3rd Weekend $51.9M (-42%), Domestic 4th Weekend $44.7M (-14%), Domestic 24-Day $466.8M, Domestic Total $718.7M, Worldwide Total $1.496B, Production Budget $170M, RT Critics/Audience 96%/99%
Finishing in fifth place is Lionsgate’s BALLERINA, which took in $9.4M and dropped a disappointing 62% in its second weekend. This brings its ten-day total to $41.8M domestic and $91.5M worldwide. One could have hoped that its Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 94%, an all-time high for the JOHN WICK franchise, would allow the picture to open strong and maintain interest.
However, BALLERINA started with a lower-than-expected opening of $24.5M last weekend, and went south from there. While it is performing better than the first JOHN WICK in 2015, it is lagging far behind all three of the other JOHN WICK movies. JOHN WICK CHAPTER 2 earned a worldwide gross of $171.5M, which is still $50M short of the $235M that BALLERINA will need to earn to be profitable. We expect BALLERINA will wind up with a final worldwide gross of approximately $140M, which would leave it $85M short of breakeven.
Much has been written about the hope to expand characters and storylines to create a JOHN WICK universe, but if BALLERINA is any indication, audiences want to see Keanu Reeves as John Wick in the leading role. All credit is due to Reeves for creating a character that is so essential that nothing else will do.
The last outing of the core franchise was JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 in 2023. That film was the highest-grossing in the group, with $440.2M in worldwide gross and a very profitable 4.4 to 1 ratio of total worldwide gross to production cost. Since moviegoers are not likely to hold BALLERINA against the JOHN WICK franchise, Lionsgate would do well to focus on the next JOHN WICK movie and hit pause on their plans to expand its universe.
BALLERINA is a well-made movie with tremendous action scenes, and Ana de Armas gave it her all in the title role. Here is how BALLERINA compares to the JOHN WICK movies after ten days.
BALLERINA vs. JOHN WICK Series
- BALLERINA (6/6/2025) – Domestic Opening $25.0M (3,409 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $9.4M (-62%), Domestic 10-Day $41.8M, Budget $90M, RT Critics/Audience 76%/94%
- JOHN WICK (10/23/2015) – Domestic Opening $14.5M (2,589 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $8.0M (-45%), Domestic 10-Day $27.5M, Domestic Total $43.0M, Worldwide Total $86M, Budget $20M, RT Critics/Audience 86%/82%
- JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (2/10/2017) – Domestic Opening $30.4M (3,113 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $16.2M (-47%), Domestic 10-Day $58.4M, Domestic Total $92.0M, Worldwide Total $171.5M, Budget $40M, RT Critics/Audience 89%/85%
- JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM (5/17/2019) – Domestic Opening $56.8M (3,850 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $24.6M (-57%), Domestic 10-Day $101.2M, Domestic Total $171.0M, Worldwide Total $327.8M, Budget $75M, RT Critics/Audience 86%/82%
- JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 (3/24/2023) – Domestic Opening $73.8M (3,855 locations), Domestic 2nd Weekend $28.3M (-62%), Domestic 10-Day $123.0M, Domestic Total $187.1M, Worldwide Total $440.2M, Budget $100M, RT Critics/Audience 94%/93%
Where Are We as of 6/12/2025
After 23 weeks, the domestic box office in 2025 stands at 126% compared to the same point in 2024 and 71% compared to 2019.
