The live-action remake of the modern animated classic unseats reigning champ "Lilo & Stitch" from its three-week stint at the top.Key PointsHow to Train Your Dragon won the top spot at the weekend's domestic and global box office charts,

How to Train Your Dragon' flew to the top of the box office charts, earning a stronger-than-expected $83 million in its first weekend of release.

Jeremy Fuster, Film Reporter, joined TheWrap in 2016 and covers box office and labor news. He received a National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for his coverage of the 2023 WGA Strike and was nominated by the LA Press Club as Best Entertainment Journalist. He can be reached at [email protected].

As Hiccup, the 17-year-old actor is shouldering the weight of Universal’s new live-action franchise — and living out his childhood fantasy.

Universal Studios and Dreamworks Animation's 'How To Train Your Dragon' series brings the world of Hiccup and Toothless to life.

It’s not even just that which made this good – the characters' mannerisms were there, the dragons were there – Toothless looked so good, and I literally felt tears come to my eyes when John Powell’s score swelled as he and Hiccup took their first real flight together. It was like a blast to the past.

In an era of skepticism around live-action remakes, Universal believes audiences will take flight with Hiccup and Toothless again.

The live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon has only just soared into theaters, and a sequel is already underway. In fact, it was announced back in April at CinemaCon 2025, well before the film,

Relax, dear readers, your eyes don’t deceive you with that headline. Just as Universal/DreamWorks have remade the 2010 fan favorite How to Train Your Dragon, the studio has given its well regarded franchise another premium format finish. Which means it’s time to ask an old question that gets new answers each time: To 3D or Not To 3D?