🎟️ Box Office Breakdown: Universal crashes the live-action remake party…

The Dailies

The Dailies reports on the latest box office news from this week.

How to Train Your Dragon (Universal)

1. 🐉 How to Train Your Dragon: 🆕 $83.7M domestic opening, $197.8M global debut. Universal's live-action remake exceeds expectations with franchise-best opening, earning an A CinemaScore and near-perfect 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
2. 🌺 Lilo & Stitch: (Wk 4) $15.5M domestic weekend (-52%), $366.4M domestic total, $858.4M global. Holds remarkably well, now passing ‘The Jungle Book’ domestically.
3. 👩‍❤️‍👨 Materialists: 🆕 $12M domestic opening. A24's star-studded rom-com featuring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal scores the distributor's third-biggest wide opening ever, though B- CinemaScore suggests mixed audience reactions.
4. 🕴️ Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning: (Wk 4) $10.3M domestic weekend (-31%), $166.3M domestic total, $506.8M global.
5. 🩰 Ballerina: $9.4M domestic weekend (-62%), $41.8M domestic total, $91.5M global. Ana de Armas-led ‘John Wick’ spinoff stumbles domestically but performs better internationally in its second frame.
6. 🥋 Karate Kid: Legends: (Wk 3) $5M domestic weekend (-42%), $44.2M domestic total, $90M global.
7. 💀 Final Destination: Bloodlines: (Wk 5) $3.9M domestic weekend (-40%), $130.6M domestic total, $265M global.
8. 🏛️ The Phoenician Scheme: (Wk 2) $3.1M domestic weekend (-51%), $12.8M domestic total, $25M global.
9. 📚 The Life of Chuck: $2.1M domestic weekend (+855%), $2.4M domestic total. Stephen King adaptation sees massive expansion boost in its second weekend.
10. 🧛 Sinners: (Wk 9) $1.5M domestic weekend (-48%), $275.5M domestic total, $359M global.

The Big Picture: The weekend delivered a healthy $151.7M total, up 25% from last week but down 29% from last year's ‘Inside Out 2’-powered frame. Universal nailed it with ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ proving Disney doesn’t have a monopoly on live-action remakes. Family films continue to be the box office's saving grace, with live-action/animated hybrids leading the charge in 2025's recovery.

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