The Gerard Butler-starring How to Train Your Dragon has now surpᴀssed a Tom Cruise action movie in the 2025 box office rankings. Directed by Dean DeBlois, the live-action remake of the 2010 film of the same name chronicles the unlikely friendship between the Viking Hiccup (Mason Thames) and the dragon Toothless as the pair become key to a new alliance.
The How to Train Your Dragon cast features a host of newcomers to the franchise, including Nico Parker as Astrid, Nick Frost as Gobber, Gabriel Howell as Snotlout, and Julian Dennison as Fishlegs, with Butler reprising his role as Stoick. The film has been met with a mostly positive response since its release on June 13.
According to new data from Box Office Mojo, How to Train Your Dragon has now crossed $589 million worldwide at the box office. This worldwide total comprises $250 million domestically and $338 million from overseas territories.
This new milestone means it has now beaten Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning‘s $588 million to become the fifth highest-grossing movie of 2025. Check out the chart of the top five below:
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2025 Worldwide Box Office – Top 5 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
тιтle |
Worldwide Box Office Total |
|
1 |
Ne Zha 2 |
$1.899B |
|
2 |
Lilo & Sтιтch |
$1.008B |
|
3 |
A Minecraft Movie |
$955M |
|
4 |
Jurᴀssic World Rebirth |
$649M |
|
5 |
How to Train Your Dragon |
$589M |
What This Means For How To Train Your Dragon
How Much Higher Will The Movie’s Box Office Go?
The budget for How to Train Your Dragon is reported to be $150 million. Using the standard Hollywood rule of thumb, this would put the movie’s break-even point around $375 million. By this metric, the live-action remake has been a major commercial success for Universal Pictures.
The generally positive How to Train Your Dragon reviews certainly helped propel it to this new milestone. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a lukewarm 76% critics’ score, but the Popcornmeter score is a stunning 97%, suggesting widespread acceptance by audiences.
Despite this glowing response from viewers, the film is now unlikely to climb any further up the 2025 box office rankings. It’s now been over a month since the film hit theaters, meaning its theatrical run is winding down. Plus, the next movie up, Jurᴀssic World Rebirth, released on July 2, meaning it still has a few weeks of powerful performance to go.
Still, the success of How to Train Your Dragon is a sign of what’s to come for the franchise. Two animated sequels released in 2014 and 2019, and it’s already confirmed that a sequel to the live-action movie is now in development and slated for release in 2027. It’s possible a third live-action movie could eventually come to fruition, too.
Our Take On How To Train Your Dragon’s New Box Office Milestone
Audiences Have Spoken
Coupled with Lilo & Sтιтch topping $1 billion, it’s clear that live-action remakes of beloved animated movies are here to stay. Many of these films tend to draw criticism for feeling like somewhat cynical studio cash-grabs, but the audience response doesn’t lie: there is a demand for this type of material.
It’s worth noting that live-action remakes of animated movies don’t always work. Snow White (2025), for example, was a major financial disappointment earlier this year.
Butler is clearly not the main draw of How to Train Your Dragon, but the film’s success further establishes the actor as a reliable leading man, and not just in mid-budget action fare. It remains to be seen how the live-action sequel will fare, but audiences will evidently see Butler back as Stoick soon enough.
Source: Box Office Mojo
