How to Train Your Dragonwill fly into movie theaters this weekend and begin its battle to turn a profit, aided by its generally positive reception so far. The latest in the live-action remake trend in Hollywood and DreamWorks' first try at this type of project, 2025’sHow to Train Your Dragonis said to follow beat-for-beat the story of 2010’s animated iteration about an outcast Viking who befriends a dragon amid a war between Vikings and dragons.How to Train Your Dragon’s early reviewssay that it captures the spirit of the story while being enhanced by the live-action visuals.
In particular,ScreenRant’s Sarah Moransays thatHow to Train Your Dragon"[pairs] that excellent story with some truly gorgeous visuals and wonderful performances," including Gerard Butler returning to the role of Stoick, with Mason Thames and Nico Parker taking over the parts of Hiccup and Astrid. AfterLilo & Stitch’s resounding box-office successproved that live-action remakes are still a lucrative venture,How to Train Your Dragonis poised to be the next big family-friendly summer blockbuster,standing a decent chance of making back its massive budget.
How To Train Your Dragon’s Budget Is Reportedly $150 Million
HTTYD Has An Average Budget For LA Remakes
According toDeadline,the newHow to Train Your Dragoncost $150 million to make,after tax credits for filming in Ireland. This is unsurprising given the significant CGI and aerial action involved in the story, as well as some expensive cast members. This also landsHow to Train Your Dragonin the middle ground in terms of recent live-action remake budgets. 2025’sSnow Whiteflopped for many reasons, but one of them was certainly its staggering $209 million budget being impossible to surpass.Snow White’s worldwide gross came to only $205.6 million (viaBox Office Mojo).
On the other hand,Lilo & Stitchhad more moderate production costs of around $100 million total, then went on to earn $775.8 million worldwide (Box Office Mojoas of June 2025).Lilo & Stitchactually would have made a profit even if it had cost as much to make asSnow WhiteorHow to Train Your Dragon. WithHow to Train Your Dragonin a position more likeLilo & StitchthanSnow Whiteheading into its opening weekend, its chances of swiftly breaking even appear good.
How To Train Your Dragon’s Opening Weekend Box Office Projections
The New HTTYD Is Almost Certainly Going To Be A Franchise Best
As of this week,Deadlineis projectingHow to Train Your Dragonto gross $65 to $75 million domestically during its first weekend in theaters,but says not to “be shocked if this beloved title overperforms.” Earlierbox office projections forHow to Train Your Dragonestimated $80 to $100 million (viaboxofficepro.com), so predictions have gotten slightly more modest. $65 million would notably be a bigger opening weekend than any of the animatedHow to Train Your Dragonmovies, the top number currently being $55 million forHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
On the other hand,Lilo & Stitchgrossed $146 million its opening weekend (which was a holiday weekend).How to Train Your Dragondoesn’t look like it’s going to be the highest-grossing movie of the summer,but it is set to have a strong opening that will likely continue for at least a month. Armed with genuinely good reviews and family-friendly content, it will attract a lot of people to the theaters, with most kids being out of school now also serving as a bonus. It will still have a ways to go before it breaks even, but the outlook is positive.
How To Train Your Dragon Needs To Make Over $375 Million To Be A Box Office Success
HTTYD Will Probably Need A Few Weeks To Become Profitable
The rule of thumb is that a movie needs to make 2.5x its budget to break even, with marketing costs factored in, meaningHow to Train Your Dragon’s primary box office goal is $375 million.Deadlinealso reports that tjhe movie is predicted to gross $110 million worldwide its first weekend, which would be a good start. Within a couple of weeks,How to Train Your Dragonshould be in the clear, and can start making money for DreamWorks properly. It certainly looks as though it’s going to be a great first live-action remake for the studio — but nothing is set in stone yet.
