15 years after the release of the original movie, it’s clear that people still love the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. Since the 2010 animated film, which has a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, is generally regarded as a modern classic, it was a big risk to adapt it into a live-action film.
While the live-action movie was bound to get audiences into theater seats, it could have potentially tainted the legacy of the animated trilogy. Thankfully, reviews for the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie have been great, with Screen Rant‘s own Sarah Moran giving it a score of 8 out of 10.
After the recently released live-action film, fans desperately want more How to Train Your Dragon movies. Luckily, a sequel to How to Train Your Dragon is already in development and is currently eyeing a June 11, 2027 release date. Therefore, it’s clear that the success of the first live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie has eased a major concern about the franchise.
Why How To Train Your Dragon Has Been Such A Big Box Office Hit
How To Train Your Dragon Is One Of The Biggest Movies Of 2025
As of this writing, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon film has grossed a total of $520 million at the worldwide box office, becoming one of the most successful Hollywood movies of the year (via Box Office Mojo). This proves that, many years after the animated trilogy concluded, fans still want to see the island of Berk and characters like Hiccup, Astrid, and Stoick on the big screen.
The new movie faithfully adapts the original animated film, and successfully recaptures the feeling of wonder and joy that audiences experienced while watching Hiccup’s story in 2010.
In fact, more people are flocking to theaters now to watch the How to Train Your Dragon franchise than in 2010. Recently, the new How to Train Your Dragon movie surpᴀssed the original animated film at the domestic box office. While the 2010 film made $217 million domestically, the live-action version of the story has made $225 million less than one month after its theatrical release.
The live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie has been such a success because of positive word of mouth. The new movie faithfully adapts the original animated film, and successfully recaptures the feeling of wonder and joy that audiences experienced while watching Hiccup’s story in 2010.
How To Train Your Dragon’s Box Office Should Guarantee A Full Trilogy Remake
At Least One Sequel Has Already Been Confirmed
One of the main reasons why the live-action How to Train Your Dragon film is so faithful to the original is because it was helmed by Dean DeBlois, who co-directed the first animated movie. DeBlois clearly loves the franchise, and was thrilled to be able to adapt the island of Berk and all the dragons in live-action. Luckily, the director has no intention of stopping after just one live-action film.
Even before the release of the first live-action film, a sequel was announced to be in development. This sequel will adapt 2014’s How to Train Your Dragon 2, which also received incredible reviews. However, before the release of the first live-action film, it wouldn’t have been hard to imagine the sequel potentially getting canceled.
Given how many other live-action remakes have disappointed at the box office, there was always a chance that the new How to Train Your Dragon movie wouldn’t attract such a large audience. Additionally, if the new movie just had average results at the box office, perhaps the second and potential third live-action movies wouldn’t be made. However, it’s now hard to imagine that the full trilogy doesn’t get made in live-action.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 Could Be Even Bigger At The Box Office
The Franchise Will Likely Continue To Dominate The Box Office
Even though there are many major movies coming out in theaters this summer, How to Train Your Dragon will likely continue to be one of the top movies at the box office. While the new live-action film may not end up being a billion-dollar movie, it will almost certainly surpᴀss the box office hauls of the three animated films.
|
Every How to Train Your Dragon Movie |
Worldwide Box Office |
RT Critics Score |
|---|---|---|
|
How to Train Your Dragon (2010) |
$494,879,860 |
99% |
|
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) |
$621,537,519 |
92% |
|
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) |
$539,987,993 |
90% |
|
How to Train Your Dragon (2025) |
$520,910,360 (so far) |
77% |
To do this, the new film will have to gross over $621 million, which was the total box office haul for How to Train Your Dragon 2. As seen in the above table, the second animated movie was the most commercially successful of the original trilogy, which bodes well for the upcoming sequel to the live-action movie.
If the next live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie receives mostly positive reviews and is once again a faithful adaptation of the source material, it could end up being an even bigger hit than the recently released film. It’s far too early to tell how well the second live-action movie will do at the box office, but it seems to be a safe bet that DeBlois will deliver yet another incredible movie.
How To Train Your Dragon’s Live-Action Trilogy Release Timeline
When Will The Third Live-Action Movie Come Out?
Since the second live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie is currently scheduled to come out in 2027, it seems likely that DeBlois and the studio will aim for a 2029 release date for the third film. This is a fast turnaround by modern franchise rates, but the third live-action movie, just like its predecessors, thankfully won’t have to do much in terms of writing.
Since it will likely adapt 2019’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, I’m confident that DeBlois and his team will be able to deliver the third live-action movie in a timely manner. Therefore, following the incredibly successful release of the first live-action How to Train Your Dragon film, there is no longer any reason to be worried that the full trilogy won’t be adapted.
