It was second week atop the box office for How To Train Your Dragon, which beat out 28 Years Later and Elio to claim the top spot. The live-action remake led the way with $37 million for the weekend, holding on for an impressive 56% drop. That’s a bit better than the second weekend hold of Lilo & Stitch, which fell 58% in its sophomore frame (though it had further to fall). It’s higher than the drops of the animated How To Train Your Dragons, which fell between 34% and 50% in their second frames – although again, they opened lower so had less room to drop.
At this point, How To Train Your Dragon is already quite a success. It has grossed $160.5 million domestically and $358.2 million worldwide against a $150 million budget, a testament to positive critical and fan reactions to the film. It is still taking aim at around $210 million to $215 million, perhaps more, as a domestic final. The budget was $150 million so Universal should be able to count this as a healthy profit when including the international grosses.
While 28 Years Later had to setting for the #2 spot, it’s still looking rosy. The long-awaited third film in the 28 Years franchise brought in $30 million in its opening weekend, on the high end of where analysts saw it coming into the weekend. The film is the latest horror film to cash in at the box office in 2025 as a result of strong reviews and fan anticipation, following on the likes of Sinners and Final Destination: Bloodlines,
There was plenty of risk on 28 Years Later; the franchise hasn’t seen a new entry since 28 Weeks Later opened in 2007, and 18 years is a long time for a franchise to languish before getting a new entry. In addition, while 28 Weeks was profitable it was viewed as a commercial disappointment when it failed to reach the original film’s heights despite having a higher budget. And 28 Years Later’s budget is $60 million, four times the budget of the previous film and almost eight times that of 28 Days Later. And finally, despite their prevalence in media there hasn’t been a successful big-budget zombie horror film on the big screen since World War Z was by and large a disappointment.
That all said, the gamble paid off, at least by first indications. Critical sentiment was a big factor; the film has an exceptional 89% critic aggregated average on Rotten Tomatoes, a big improvement over 28 Weeks’ 73% and on par with the original’s 89%. The word of mouth has been a bit rougher at 65%, closer to 28 Weeks’ 66%. However, the CinemaScore is a quite good-for-horror B, which is an encouraging sign.
28 Years has scored the same numbers overseas with $30 million, which is close to the total international gross of the previous films ($37.7 million for Days, $35.6 million for Weeks). Of course, the bigger budget is a factor but right now $60 million against a $60 million budget is an indicator of success. Domestically, the film looks primed for at least $85 million; it will run into M3GAN 2.0 next weekend but is targeting a different slice of the horror audience. It will be in fine shape as the franchise preps for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple in January.
Less positive things can be said of Elio, which scored Pixar’s lowest wide release opening to date. The animated film took in $21 million, failing to meet even the modest $25 million expectations heading into the weekend. The previous low was the original Toy Story, which started with $29.1 million all the way back in 1999 (a different time) and legged out to $192.5 million stateside.
Don’t expect the same legs from Elio – it’s a different era, and Pixar isn’t the game changer these days that it was then. And we can’t blame the film itself, because Elio is quite well liked with an 84% RT critic aggregate, a 91% RT audience rating and an A CinemaScore. This was a matter of marketing and poor scheduling, putting the film in theaters soon after How To Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch which is still doing good business.
Now, don’t completely count it out; Pixar has pulled off a miracle before and recently with Elemental. If you’ll recall, that film opened with just $29.6 million against a $200 million budget and still turned an (infinitesimal) profit thanks to incredibly good legs that got it across the finish line with $484.8 million (the marketing costs on that were relatively low). And people do seem to like Elio a bit more than that film. Elemental started off slow overseas but gained strength there, something Elio will also have to do since its $14 million compares to Elemental’s $15.4 million international start.
Ultimately, it’s hard to say if Elio can make lighting strike twice. It benefits from being cheaper than Elemental with “only” a $150 million budget. Its domestic total could make it as high as $80 million or even more, but it will need a lot more overseas to hit a profit margin if that proves to be the case.
Lilo & Stitch was down just 38% as it continues to score, bringing in $9.7 million. The Disney live action remake is already a hit and now stands at $386.7 million domestically with $910.3 million worldwide. It’s slowing down a tiny bit but still may have the juice to make it to $1 billion worldwide and over $400 million domestically. Either way it’s a megahit off of a $100 million production budget.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning held on well again, down 38% in its fifth frame with $6.6 million. The action sequel is now up to $178.4 million domestically and $540.9 million worldwide. It won’t be a hit against its massive $400 million budget but it’s surpassed Dead Reckoning domestically and will do worldwide soon. It is still on par for around $200 million by the end of its run.
The Materialists took an expected 52% drop in its second weekend with $5.8 million. The Celine Song-directed film is doing well for A24 with $23.9 million domestically and $31.4 million worldwide, good numbers for a supposedly dead genre that A24 isn’t known for. It’s looking like it will end its run over $30 million stateside, more than enough for A24’s VOD-reliant market strategy to be considered a success against a $20 million budget.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina continues to fade away, as it slipped 54% in its third weekend to $4.5 million. The action spinoff is no John Wick in terms of profit margin and currently stands at $51.1 million stateside and $100.8 million worldwide against a $90 million budget. It is looking at closing around $60 million in the US, not enough for a profit margin.
Karate Kid: Legends is in better straits, down 54% in its fourth weekend. The revival sequel grossed $2.4 million for the weekend and is at $49.4 million domestically and $98.2 million worldwide against a $45 million budget. It’s not a massive hit but it will be profitable with around $55 million or so stateside.
Final Destination: Bloodlines added $1.9 million to its tally, slipping 53% in its sixth weekend. The horror sequel is now up to $134.8 million stateside and $280.1 million worldwide, a big hit against a $50 million budget. It will end its domestic run at just about $140 million.
The tenth spot was taken by the Indian action film Kuberaa, which brought in $1.8 million. The Prathyangira Cinemas release had decent buzz at a 72% RT audience rating and has $6.2 million worldwide. It will slip from the top 10 next week.
Next weekend will see a new number one as the racing drama F1: The Movie bows in theaters with an expected $55 million to $70 million start. Meanwhile, M3GAN 2.0 is looking at $25 million to $30 million or so.
BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. How To Train Your Dragon – $37 million ($160.5 million total, $358.2 million WW)
2. 28 Years Later – $30 million ($30 million total, $60 million WW)
3. Elio – $21 million ($21 million total, $35 million WW)
4. Lilo & Sitch – $9.7 million ($386.7 million total, $910.3 million WW)
5. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – $6.6 million ($178.4 million total, $540.9 million WW)
6. The Materialists – $5.8 million ($23.9 million total, $31.4 million WW)
7. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina – $4.5 million ($51.1 million total, $100.8 million WW)
8. Karate Kid: Legends – $2.4 million ($49.4 million total, $98.2 million WW)
9. Final Destination: Bloodlines – $1.9 million ($134.8 million total, $280.1 million WW)
10. Kuberaa – $1.8 million ($1.8 million total, $6.2 million WW)
