Lilo & Stitchdominated the summer movie season for the last three weekends in a row, but there’s a new live-action animated sheriff in town — and one that breathes fire. Yes, the long-awaitedHow to Train Your Dragonremake has become the film to finally knock Experiment 626 out of the No. 1 spot at thebox office, and the reimagining of the 2010 DreamWorks flick brought in an estimated $83.7 million domestically to begin its theatrical run.How to Train Your Dragonalso boasts the second highest-grossing opening weekend of the 2025 summer. Check out the rankings below:
2025 Summer Box Office: Highest-Grossing Opening Weekends (Domestic 3-Day)
How to Train Your Dragon’s$83.7 million marks a franchise record for best opening weekend when stacked up against the other installments in the film series, too, and the remake’s “A” CinemaScore equals the same excellent grades received by all the other entries in the saga. Critics (Certified Fresh 77%) weren’t quite as enchanted with live-action Hiccup (Mason Thames) and the lovable dragon Toothless, but fans adored the reimagining, which resulted in the movie receiving a “Verified Hot” Popcornmeter rating of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. The quality of the project and the way it was received by the fandom also allowedHow to Train Your Dragonto thrive overseas.
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The 2025 version ofHow to Train Your Dragonfared even better internationally as director Dean DeBlois’ remake made nearly $200 million worldwide during its debut. However, if the estimates hold, the live-action animated adventure will come up just shy with a take of $197.8 million.How to Train Your Dragonalso notched one of the best global openings of the year with onlyNe Zha 2,Lilo & Stitch, andA Minecraft Movieperforming better on the worldwide stage. Currently,Ne Zha 2($1.98 billion) is the only 2025 movie to eclipse the billion-dollar mark at the box office, and now the question becomes: can Experiment 626 reach that highly coveted milestone, too?
‘Lilo & Stitch’ Closes in on the Billion-Dollar Mark
Last weekend’s box office champion,Lilo & Stitch, didn’t have anything to feel bad about despite being dethroned byHow to Train Your Dragon,but Disney’s live-action animated adventure did have to settle for second place over the weekend with $15.5 million. However, Experiment 626’s return to the big screen has now crossed the $800 million mark on the worldwide stage. In fact, if the estimates hold,Lilo & Stitchwill have amassed $858.4 million during its first four weekends of theatrical release.
The critically acclaimed romantic comedy,Materialists, which stars Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal, found enough love at the box office to notch the No. 3 slot in the weekend’s Top 5. The rom-com made a solid $12 million during its debut, which also marked the third highest-grossing opening weekend for A24, with onlyCivil War($25.5 million) andHereditary($13.6 million) performing better thanMaterialists. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise’s latest stunt-filled action flick as IMF agent Ethan Hunt continues making the most of the good ole summertime.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoningchecked in at No. 4 over the weekend with another $10.3 million, and Cruise’s latest collaboration with McQ (director Christopher McQuarrie) has now crossed the $500 million mark worldwide.The Final Reckoninghas been more of a force financially overseas ($340.5 million) than in the United States and Canada ($166.3 million). However, those numbers combined are still good enough to get the newMission: Impossibleto an estimated $506.8 million globally. Meanwhile, another action-oriented project,From the World of John Wick: Ballerina,rounds out the Top 5 with $9.4 million.
Several new titles jointhe 2025 box officeon June 20, including the highly anticipated horror sequel28 Years Later, Pixar’s latest animated adventure,Elio, Rebel Wilson’s return to the big screen inBride Hard, plus the Bryan Cranston and Allison Janney-led dramatic comedy from Lionsgate,Everything’s Going to Be Great. Various box office forecasts predict thatEliowill debut with somewhere between $35 million and $45 million next weekend, while28 Years Lateris eyeing over $34 million. Therefore, ifHow to Train Your Dragoncan hold its drop between weekends at around 50%, next weekend should be the most intriguing race for the No. 1 spot at the box office so far this summer.
Sources:The Numbers,Rotten Tomatoes,Deadline,Boxoffice Pro
How to Train Your Dragon
