No surprise, but Universal’s live-action How To Train Your Dragon tops the box office this weekend. Oddly(?), Nico Parker’s Astrid is missing from the marketing. More on that below.
How To Train Your Dragon box office report
The flick is coming in higher than estimates, with a global bow looking like over $200 million, which is huge.
Its U.S. opening is also nothing to complain about, estimated to be $82.7M as of Saturday. That’s also better than the 2010’s original, which in today’s dollars opened to over $64M.
The Rotten Tomatoes fan score is also high sky, which is what matters more, as it’s at 98%. The critics are lukewarm at 77%.
The budget is around $165M, so it’s looking like How To Train Your Dragon will be a success. It’s break-even number is around $412.5M. It’s made half that in one weekend.
Where’s Astrid? Nico Parker Missing From TV Spots
Regarding Astrid, on Friday I was watching the NBA Finals. They showed spots for How To Train Your Dragon. I was quick to notice they didn’t feature Nico Parker’s Astrid at all.
I also did a quick check on YouTube for How To Train Your Dragon spots and sure enough, no Astrid.
Maybe I just haven’t watched enough spots, but How To Train Your Dragon race swaps out Astrid with Nico Parker and completely changes the look of the character as a result.
Just this week prior to the release of the movie, Nico Parker also blasted the fan response as she said she doesn’t care and talked up diversity.
Well, we know how that worked out for Disney’s Snow White with Rachel Zegler. Certainly, Universal wouldn’t want a similar situation or even any comparisons. Also, no idea if that’s related to no Astrid in any of the spots. Smart move, though.
All the How to Train Your Dragon spots on TV are without Astrid 😂 pic.twitter.com/me8mZP1sQ4
— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) June 14, 2025
Release info
How to Train Your Dragon is a live-action reimagining of the hit animated film from director Dean DeBlois, known for the original trilogy. Mason Thames stars as Hiccup alongside Nico Parker as Astrid and Gerard Butler, who reprises his role as Stoick. The cast also includes Nick Frost, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Ruth Codd, Peter Serafinowicz, and Murray McArthur.
Produced by DeBlois, Marc Platt, and Adam Siegel, the film is part of the Filmed For IMAX® program. Based on Cressida Cowell’s bestselling books, the story follows Hiccup and his dragon Toothless as they defy tradition and seek peace between Vikings and dragons in a visually stunning adaptation.
