The latest weekend at the box office saw a familiar trend continue: live-action remakes are big business. This time, however, it wasn’t a Disney classic leading the charge. Universal and Dreamworks entered the fray on the 15th anniversary of their beloved animated hit, How to Train Your Dragon, releasing a live-action adaptation that immediately made its mark.
Taking the top spot and ending the three-week reign of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, the new How to Train Your Dragon debuted with a powerful $83.7 million opening weekend domestically (June 13-15, 2025). While a significant number, some earlier projections had anticipated an even larger haul, with one forecast predicting a “huge” opening closer to $120 million. Regardless, this performance firmly establishes the dragon saga’s return as a major theatrical event.
How Does Dragon’s Opening Stack Up?
The $83.7 million debut places the How to Train Your Dragon remake eighth among major live-action/CGI-heavy adaptations of animated films released over the past decade or so. While not reaching the towering heights of films like The Lion King (2019) at $191.7 million or Beauty and the Beast (2017) at $174.7 million, it performed ahead of titles such as Maleficent ($69.4 million) and Cinderella (2015) at $67.8 million. Notably, its opening is below that of the film it dethroned, the live-action Lilo & Stitch, which opened earlier in the year to a robust $146 million.
Here’s how the How to Train Your Dragon remake’s opening weekend compares to other notable live-action animated adaptations:
The Lion King (2019) – $191.7 million
Beauty and the Beast (2017) – $174.7 million
Lilo & Stitch (2025) – $146.0 million
Alice in Wonderland (2010) – $116.1 million
The Jungle Book (2016) – $103.2 million
The Little Mermaid (2023) – $95.5 million
Aladdin (2019) – $91.5 million
How To Train Your Dragon (2025) – $83.7 million
Maleficent – $69.4 million
Cinderella (2015) – $67.8 million
Comparing the remake to its animated predecessors, the original 2010 How to Train Your Dragon opened lower at $43.7 million but went on to have incredible legs, grossing nearly five times that domestically. The animated trilogy overall was a massive success, earning $1.63 billion worldwide, though domestic returns saw diminishing results across the sequels. The new film’s reported production budget stands at $150 million. With its global opening weekend reaching over $197 million (including $114 million internationally), crossing the halfway mark to profitability out of the gate is a promising start.
Lilo & Stitch’s Strong Run Continues
Despite yielding the top spot, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch live-action remake held strong in second place, adding another $15.5 million in its fourth weekend. Its impressive run has pushed its domestic total past $366 million and its worldwide gross over $800 million. Earlier reports had indicated Lilo & Stitch was already the second-highest-grossing film domestically and worldwide for 2025, trailing only The Minecraft Movie, having reached around $750 million domestically in previous weeks.
Now, the film is setting its sights higher, potentially becoming the first U.S. film of 2025 to cross the coveted $1 billion mark globally. While this goal might be ambitious, its current trajectory, needing roughly $40-50 million more domestically to pass $900 million worldwide, shows it’s still a possibility.
Other Notable Box Office Stories
The weekend also saw a mix of holdovers and niche releases vying for attention:
Ballerina Falls: The John Wick spinoff took a significant tumble in its second weekend, dropping over 61% to $9.4 million. With a total domestic gross of $41.8 million against a reported $90 million budget, the film is struggling to find its footing. Some earlier analysis suggested the film’s opening was lower than expected due to facing tough competition from films like Mission: Impossible. Based on its current pace, its final domestic total may fall below its production cost, requiring a much stronger international performance to turn a profit.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Holds Steady: The latest M:I film landed in fourth place with $10.3 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $166.3 million. While tracking slightly behind some previous franchise entries domestically, the film has successfully crossed the half-billion mark globally, now standing at $506 million worldwide.
Final Destination: Bloodlines Proves a Critical Hit: In its fifth weekend, the horror sequel added $3.9 million, pushing its domestic total past $130 million ($270 million worldwide). This installment has defied typical horror sequel trends, earning surprisingly strong reviews (92% on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest of the franchise) praised for adding “emotional layers” and executing “ingenious” gore sequences, making its solid box office performance particularly notable.
A24’s Mixed Fortunes: Celine Song’s Materialists had a strong wide debut for A24, opening with $12 million, their third-best opening ever. This contrasts sharply with the disappointing platform release of Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck, which earned only $2.1 million from over 1,000 theaters ($1,955 per theater average). The performance of Life of Chuck highlights the challenges of this release strategy compared to previous successes like The Shawshank Redemption or even A24’s own Past Lives, which excelled in a platform release but on a smaller scale before expansion.
Other films in the top 10 included Karate Kid: Legends ($5 million weekend, $44.1 million total) and Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme ($3 million weekend, $12.7 million total), while Ryan Coogler’s Sinners continued its remarkably long run, likely becoming the first film of 2025 to spend nine straight weeks in the top 10.
Looking ahead, the box office landscape will see further shifts with upcoming releases like Disney/Pixar’s Elio and the horror sequel 28 Years Later, promising continued competition for audience dollars.
