Turns out audiences were also welcome to DreamWorks remaking their own films.

The live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon easily topped the box office, opening higher than any of the prior films. A24 also found success with Materialists, which scored the company's third best debut. Unfortunately, the week's big loser was Neon's The Life of Chuck, which disappointed in its wide expansion.

The Top 10 earned a combined $146.4 million this weekend. That's down a rough 30.6% from last year, when Inside Out 2 debuted with a colossal $154 million.

Opening at #1, How to Train Your Dragon debuted with a pretty great $84.6 million in 4,356 theaters. That's higher than any of the animated films, even adjusted for inflation. Obviously below Lilo & Stitch's massive debut, but the film was not really expected to come close to those numbers.

There were concerns over the idea of a live-action remake of this franchise. After all, the original film is barely 15 years old and fresh in people's mind. But it's clear that it was enough nostalgia to make people curious. Universal and DreamWorks made two great jobs here: getting Dean DeBlois back as the director with complete control, and re-capture the iconic images of the animated film. Sure, it leaned as shot-for-shot in some aspects, but clearly it worked here. As the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

According to Universal, 56% of the audience was female, and 68% was 35 and under. They gave it a strong "A" on CinemaScore, the same grade as the animated films. Even with Elio coming up, this should be a main attraction for families throughout the summer. It should definitely hit over $250 million domestically. Universal ain't wasting a second with this, as they already set a sequel for June 2027.

In second place, Lilo & Stitch dropped 51.4% and added $15.7 million this weekend. That's not a terrible drop, but it's still quite rough. For the past few weeks, the film has had very mediocre legs at the box office. For some perspective, its first weekend was $82 million ahead of Mission: Impossible. Now it's fourth weekend is just $5 million ahead. The film has amassed $366.5 million domestically, and it's now guaranteed to finish below A Minecraft Movie ($423 million). Quite front-loaded for a family film.

In third place, A24's Materialists opened with $11.3 million this weekend. While Box Office Mojo and The Numbers report the debut at $12 million, Deadline said that the updated actuals are $11.3 million. That's the studio's third biggest debut ever, behind Civil War ($25.5 million) and Hereditary ($13.5 million). Notably, it matched the domestic lifetime of Celine Song's previous film, Past Lives ($11.3 million), in just 3 days.

This debut suggests that there's still an audience waiting for a romance in theaters. A24 sold the film pretty much solely on its cast. Sure, Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal have had some box office duds in the past few years, but they're still well known names. Celine Song has also earned a cult following thanks to her critically acclaimed Past Lives. While Materialists didn't have the universal acclaim of that film, it still earned a great response (86% on RT).

According to A24, 74% of the audience was female and 69% was 35 and under. This is a great debut… but here's when things turn a little wild. Audiences gave the film a very weak "B–" on CinemaScore, which is quite poor for a romance film. It's a result of A24 marketing the film as a traditional rom-com, but the final film is not that. It's quite likely that the film falls off in coming weeks, but it should still hit $30 million domestically.

Even with the loss of IMAX screens, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning had its best drop so far. It dipped just 28.8%, adding $10.5 million this weekend. While the film started $14 million behind Dead Reckoning on its opening weekend, it's now $15 million ahead of it through the same point. The film has earned $166.5 million, and it will outgross that film's domestic total in the next few days.

After its disappointing debut last week, Ballerina didn't save face on its second weekend. It collapsed 60.2%, earning just $9.7 million this weekend. That drop is slightly better than John Wick: Chapter 4 (62%), but that film's opening weekend was 3 times larger. Even with positive reviews and word of mouth, it doesn't appear like the audience was much interested in this.

Through 10 days, Ballerina has earned just $42.1 million domestically. If it keeps dropping like this, it will miss $60 million domestically. So there's a strong chance that it becomes the least attended film in the franchise (John Wick's adjusted total is $58.4 million). Ouch.

Karate Kid: Legends recovered after its terrible drop last week. It dipped 38.7%, adding $5.2 million this weekend. Although the film's $44.4 million domestic total still leaves a lot to be desired.

In seventh place, Final Destination: Bloodlines eased 37.9% and earned $4 million. The film has amassed $130.7 million domestically, and it will finish with close to $140 million. Assuming it's not fully impacted by 28 Years Later this week.

Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme dropped 48.9% and added $3.2 million. That's actually a better drop than Asteroid City (53%). Impressive, considering the film's word of mouth wasn't as strong as that film. Through 2 weekends in wide release, the film has earned $12.9 million.

Neon expanded Mike Flanagan's The Life of Chuck to 1,072 theaters, but the film disappointed in ninth place with just $2.3 million this weekend. That's Flanagan's worst debut in theaters; his three theatrical films all managed to open with at least $12 million. Sure, they all opened in far more theaters, but still.

Unfortunately, this result isn't surprising. After all, the limited release last week was underwhelming, indicating it wasn't going to break out in its expansion. The film earned buzz when it surprisingly won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, suggesting it would be an awards player. Instead of cashing in on the buzz, Neon bought it and decided to set it for summer. In a sea of competition, it simply feels like the buzz died down in the past 9 months. It just didn't connect with audiences.

Due to releasing in just 1,072 theaters, we don't have much data breakdown for the weekend. Now, the audience reception is very positive, which bodes well for its legs. Although with a debut this low (and little-to-no awards buzz), the film might not last long in theaters.

Rounding out the Top 10 was Sinners, which dropped 45.8% for a $1.5 million weekend. The film has earned an incredible $275.5 million so far.

A24's Bring Her Back is disappearing quickly. It collapsed 60%, adding $1.4 million this weekend. The film's domestic total stands at $17.6 million.

Thunderbolts is also nearing the end of its run. It collapsed 57.7%, earning just $1 million this weekend. The film has earned $188.5 million, and it will finish its run with around $192 million.

OVERSEAS

How to Train Your Dragon also led the box office in the rest of the world. It opened with a fantastic $114.1 million overseas, for a $198 million worldwide debut. The best debuts were in Mexico ($14M), the UK ($11.4M), China ($11.2M), Brazil ($7.8M), South Korea ($7.4M), France ($5.1M), Australia ($4.4M), Spain ($4.3M), Germany ($4M) and Italy ($3.3M). Nearly all of these markets are all franchise best. Like the domestic market, this should be the main attraction for families for the summer. The second film is the highest grossing in the franchise with $621 million worldwide, and the remake should easily fly past that. Expect more live-action DreamWorks remakes. For better or worse.

Lilo & Stitch was impacted by Dragon's arrival. It dropped 54% and added $31 million this weekend, for a $858 million worldwide total. The best markets are Mexico ($61.8M), UK ($45.1M), France ($35.2M), Brazil ($31.8M) and Germany ($27M). While the film seemed like an "easy billion" based on its opening weekend, these drops are quite steeper than expected, and it has no new markets left to open. For now, $1 billion is still in the cards, but if it hits it, it won't be by much.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning added $21 million overseas, allowing it to cross $500 million worldwide. The best markets are China ($55.8M), UK ($31.2M), Japan ($27.3M), Korea ($21.6M) and France ($20.8M). It should pass Dead Reckoning worldwide, but it still remains to be seen if it will touch $600 million.

Ballerina added $13.5 million overseas, taking its worldwide total to $91 million. Barring a miracle recovery, the film will probably close with around $140 million worldwide. Damn.

FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK

Movie Release Date Studio Domestic Opening Domestic Total Worldwide Total Budget The Amateur Apr/11 20th Century Studios $14,802,849 $40,759,635 $95,956,038 $60M The Accountant 2 Apr/25 Amazon MGM $24,533,959 $65,523,366 $102,123,366 $80M

The Amateur has closed with almost $96 million worldwide. Not a bad amount, although its $60 million budget put profitability quite high. While it started with some promise, it didn't really hold well in the coming weeks. There's potential in mid-budget thrillers, but the quality still needs to be there if it wants a chance at success.

But you know what not many expected? That The Accountant 2 would finish with $102 million worldwide, barely above The Amateur. That's a rough drop from the original's $155 million worldwide total, but it simply looks like the audience moved on after 9 years. Even when the original was a huge hit in home media and streaming. A sequel is in development, but it's more likely it will go to Prime Video instead.

THIS WEEKEND

We've got two wide releases. One will contend for the #1 spot, and the other is probably heading to some very ugly numbers.

After so many years stuck in development in hell, Sony is finally releasing Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later, 18 years after the latest installment in the franchise. Like the previous films, there are no returning cast members, with Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes as the new leads. But what's important is the return of Boyle in the director's chair, alongside Alex Garland as the screenwriter. The film is also setting a higher bar than most horror films; it cost $75 million, more expensive than the average horror film. It's also set to launch a trilogy, with the second film already filmed and set for January 2026. How big will it be?

The other release is Pixar's Elio, the company's 29th film. It follows an eleven-year-old boy named Elio who accidentally becomes the intergalactic ambassador of planet Earth after being beamed up to the Communiverse by aliens for making contact. The film has had a complicated release, given that it was supposed to come out in March 2024. And in the process, some aspects of the film were retooled, including replacing America Ferrera with Zoe Saldana. While Pixar hit gold last year with Inside Out 2, there's no chance Elio opens anywhere close to that. The recent failure of other sci-fi animated films like Lightyear, Strange World, and Transformers One puts a lot more pressure on this film.

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