‘Elio’ no ... Pixar’s latest crash lands with studio’s worst debut
Universal’s ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ redo holds on to the No. 1 spot while ’28 Years Later’ scares up franchise’s best debut.
Hello! Welcome to The Box Office Report for the weekend of June 20-22, 2025.
1. How to Train Your Dragon
Weekend gross: $37M
Total domestic gross: $160.5M
Last weekend: 1st
Percent drop: 56
For the fifth weekend in a row, a live-action remake burned the rest of the box office. Hot on the trail of Lilo & Stitch’s three consecutive frames at No. 1, Universal’s How to Train Your Dragon do-over added another $37 million to its domestic haul, bringing that number up to $160.5 million.
The remake’s North American gross is only a few hundred thousand dollars away from passing the entire domestic haul of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which made $160.8 million back in 2019. The live-action remake should join the original How to Train Your Dragon ($217.9 million) as the franchise’s only films to crack the $200 million barrier.
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2. 28 Years Later
Weekend gross: $30M
Total domestic gross: $30M
Last weekend: New release
Percent drop: NA
28 Years Later came in second place this weekend — but the long-awaited sequel from director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland was only $7 million behind How to Train Your Dragon’s second weekend.
The zombie film easily scored the best opening weekend for the franchise, beating 2003’s 28 Days Later ($10.1 million) and 2007’s 28 Weeks Later ($9.8 million). Not only was this a record opener for the 28 Days Later franchise, 28 Years Later is already two thirds of the way to matching the original film ($45.1 million domestic) and has topped the franchise’s second film ($28.6 million domestic).
I’d imagine that next January’s 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple should follow in the footsteps of 28 Years Later’s $30 million debut.
