How to Train Your Dragon' flew to the top of the box office charts, earning a stronger-than-expected $83 million in its first weekend of release.

The live-action remake of the modern animated classic unseats reigning champ "Lilo & Stitch" from its three-week stint at the top.

Jeremy Fuster, Film Reporter, joined TheWrap in 2016 and covers box office and labor news. He received a National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award for his coverage of the 2023 WGA Strike and was nominated by the LA Press Club as Best Entertainment Journalist. He can be reached at [email protected].

It’s not even just that which made this good – the characters' mannerisms were there, the dragons were there – Toothless looked so good, and I literally felt tears come to my eyes when John Powell’s score swelled as he and Hiccup took their first real flight together. It was like a blast to the past.

Universal Pictures' live-action film "How to Train Your Dragon" topped the box office this weekend with $83.7 million, as family-friendly fare continues to draw audiences to theaters.

How to Train Your Dragon” took flight at the box office this weekend, proving that some remakes still have teeth

Relax, dear readers, your eyes don’t deceive you with that headline. Just as Universal/DreamWorks have remade the 2010 fan favorite How to Train Your Dragon, the studio has given its well regarded franchise another premium format finish. Which means it’s time to ask an old question that gets new answers each time: To 3D or Not To 3D?

On the set of the live-action movie, Toothless and the other dragons existed as large puppets with simple functions, operated by a team of master puppeteers led by Tom Wilton, a performer who had worked on the “War Horse” stage play.