Weekend Actuals: How to Train Your Dragon 3 Soars to $55.0M; Fighting with My Family Expands to $7.8M

Monday Update: Universal’s animated sequel How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World opened above expectations with $55.0M in first place. Projected to open more like $47M, this third installment marks the Dragon franchise’s best opening, even after adjusting for ticket price inflation.

Elsewhere at the box office:

  • Last weekend’s leader, Fox’s sci-fi Alita: Battle Angel, dropped -57% to $12.3M and second place.
  • MGM’s sports movie Fighting With My Familyopened with with $7.8M and fourth place, in line with projections.
  • Roadside Attractions’ faith-based Run the Racecracked the top 10, opening in 10th place with $2.1M.
  • Universal’s Green Book, ahead of its Academy Award win for Best Picture, posted by far the lowest percentage drop of any film in top 15. It declined a mild -26%, while the next-mildest drop was -42%.

Comparisons

Total box office this extended weekend was $127.5M.

That’s up +1.0% over last weekend but down -34.8% behind this same weekend last year, when Black Panther led for a second frame with $111.6M.

Year-to-date box office stands at $1.40BM. That’s -24.6% behind this same date last year, down from -22.2% after last weekend.

However, that comparison may be a bit unfair, since 2019 hasn’t seen a release nearly as big as Black Panther. Most analysts are still predicting 2019’s box office to ultimately beat 2018’s.

Demographics

Among films in this weekend’s top 10, audience demographics by Vertigo for Run the Race were not yet available.

The audience for How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World in its opening weekend on top was 50.1% female and 50.7% under age 25.

The audience for Fighting With My Family in its wide opening weekend on top was 75.3% male and 87.7% over age 25.

The most male audience in this weekend’s top 10 was Fighting With My Family at 75.3%, while the most female audience was Isn’t It Romantic at 68.3%.

The most under-25 audience in this weekend’s top 10 was The LEGO Movie 2 at 56.2%, while the most over-25 audience was Cold Pursuit at 93.6%.

A full demographic breakdown of the top 30 movies this weekend, courtesy of BoxofficeProfile by Vertigo, is below:


Monday’s Weekend Actuals (Domestic)

FRI, FEB. 22 – SUN, FEB. 24

#TITLEWEEKENDLOCATIONSAVG.TOTALWKS.DIST.
1How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World$55,022,2454,259$12,919$57,522,2454Universal / DreamWorks Animation
2Alita: Battle Angel$12,342,291-57%3,80212$3,246$61,023,359220th Century Fox
3The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part$9,683,481-53%3,833-470$2,526$83,287,5205Warner Bros.
4Fighting With My Family$7,813,1135530%2,7112707$2,882$8,028,1342MGM
5Isn’t It Romantic$7,121,121-50%3,4440$2,068$33,379,8632Warner Bros.
6What Men Want$5,248,197-51%2,389-523$2,197$45,109,2633Paramount
7Happy Death Day 2U$4,888,785-49%3,2125$1,522$21,511,6652Universal Pictures
8Cold Pursuit$3,210,838-46%2,320-310$1,384$26,996,4053Lionsgate / Summit
9The Upside$3,177,958-42%2,148-633$1,479$99,707,3677STX Entertainment
10Green Book$2,128,015-26%1,253-365$1,698$69,645,70115Universal Pictures
11Glass$1,769,985-55%1,446-1003$1,224$107,935,0406Universal
12The Prodigy$1,122,595-65%1,331-1199$843$13,503,1163Orion Pictures
#TITLEWEEKENDLOCATIONSAVG.TOTALWKS.DIST.
1Run The Race$2,160,713853$2,533$2,160,7131Roadside Attractions
2Total Dhamaal$989,387202$4,898$989,3871FIP
3Gully Boy$976,466-52%26911$3,630$4,216,4372Viva Pictures
4Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse$884,085-56%743-464$1,190$184,924,11011Sony / Columbia
5Aquaman$759,715-59%741-523$1,025$332,935,26211Warner Bros.
6Vice$633,75611%7020$903$47,116,4069Annapurna
7Bohemian Rhapsody$624,525-36%424-138$1,473$213,118,0251720th Century Fox
8A Star is Born$610,148-22%745-98$819$210,843,34621Warner Bros.
9The 2019 Oscar Nominated Short Films$595,220-27%41545$1,434$3,202,6513ShortsTV w/ Magnolia Pictures
10The Favourite$557,077-14%288-36$1,934$32,124,80514Fox Searchlight
11They Shall Not Grow Old$540,805-47%448-178$1,207$16,400,17910Warner Bros.
12Arctic$498,660106%257194$1,940$1,052,4654Bleecker Street
13Ralph Breaks the Internet$375,983-62%406-948$926$199,868,95014Disney
14Miss Bala$355,447-63%515-657$690$14,619,5174Sony Pictures
15Cold War$300,778-28%25912$1,161$4,095,56810Amazon Studios
16A Dog’s Way Home$268,749-69%417-463$644$41,177,0217Sony Pictures
17Bumblebee$217,757-51%228-356$955$126,928,80210Paramount Pictures
18Escape Room$201,911-66%264-371$765$56,134,7378Sony Pictures
19Mary Poppins Returns$194,406-53%234-111$831$170,933,65910Disney
20The Mule$176,304-44%235-97$750$103,452,21711Warner Bros.
21If Beale Street Could Talk$149,204-32%127-38$1,175$14,431,10411Annapurna
22The Wife$148,905113%204127$730$9,412,91728Sony Pictures Classics
23Capernaum$128,247-32%115-21$1,115$1,228,94211Sony Pictures Classics
24Stan & Ollie$125,408-50%128-82$980$5,000,3519Sony Pictures Classics
25On The Basis Of Sex$113,520-52%129-57$880$24,476,7379Focus Features
26The Kid Who Would Be King$66,492-80%188-227$354$16,581,777520th Century Fox
#TITLEWEEKENDLOCATIONSAVG.TOTALWKS.DIST.
1Everybody Knows$313,40063%7148$4,414$686,2213Focus Features
2Never Look Away$152,91420%8049$1,911$469,6095Sony Pictures Classics
3Free Solo$145,681-23%90-18$1,619$16,495,60222National Geographic Entertainment
4Uri: The Surgical Strike$73,360-57%38-13$1,931$4,309,5547PackYourBag Films
5Lords of Chaos$54,0546%7058$772$174,8343Gunpowder & Sky
6Can You Ever Forgive Me?$48,589-34%46-22$1,056$8,751,08419Fox Searchlight
7Shoplifters$39,667-41%42-24$944$3,159,70714Magnolia Pictures
8Birds of Passage$36,61659%108$3,662$83,3532The Orchard
9The Invisibles$23,913-27%18-1$1,329$208,6825Greenwich Entertainment
10To Dust$18,607-32%173$1,095$67,9703Good Deed Entertainment
11Creed II$16,054-49%39-16$412$115,690,96014MGM / Warner Bros
12The Last Resort$15,508-48%72$2,215$94,30610Kino Lober Films
13CATVIDEOFEST 2019$15,06034%21$7,530$38,9142Oscilloscope
14The World Before Your Feet$8,835120%61$1,473$245,24414Greenwich Entertainment
15Serenity$8,170-63%22-41$371$8,530,2575Aviron Pictures
16Ruben Brandt, Collector$6,72011%31$2,240$18,0322Sony Pictures Classics
17Wrestle$6,0271$6,027$6,0271Oscilloscope Laboratories
18Burning$5,787886%31$1,929$710,87818Well Go USA Entertainment
19Destroyer$4,045-49%4-11$1,011$1,509,5409Annapurna Pictures
20Hotel By The River$3,430-38%21$1,715$12,9882Cinema Guild
21Police Story and Police Story 2$3,053-30%2-1$1,527$58,9644Janus Films
22Sorry Angel$2,445-63%10$2,445$12,8412Strand Releasing
23The Wild Pear Tree$2,36868%40$592$21,9304Cinema Guild
24What Is Democracy?$2,21374%20$1,107$31,1386Zeitgeist Films
25Hale County This Morning, This Evening$2,066-59%6-1$344$104,81724Cinema Guild
26Becoming Astrid$1,5713$524$108,44414Music Box Films
27The Heiresses$985-2%30$328$50,2526Distrib Films US
28The Image Book$879-90%30$293$77,0255Kino Lorber Films
29Of Fathers and Sons$279-24%3-1$93$12,35314Kino Lorber
30Who Will Write Our History$187-93%1-2$187$94,5366Abramorama
31Studio 54$38-94%10$38$199,66321Zeitgeist Films

Sunday Update: Thanks to a string of notable underperformers including Glass, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, and Happy Death Day 2U, 2019 got off to a bumpy start at the North American box office. Thankfully, fortunes reversed this weekend with the release of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which blasted past expectations to an estimated $55.5 million in its opening frame (a total that doesn’t include $2.5 million from a special Fandango preview screening on February 2), besting the two previous entries in the franchise and injecting new life into a sluggish year at the multiplex. Elsewhere, the Dwayne Johnson wrestling comedy Fighting with My Family performed reasonably well in its wide expansion, while the faith-based football drama Run the Race managed to crack the Top 10 in its debut on 853 screens.

Roaring onto 4,259 screens, How to Train Your Dragon 3 built on goodwill from the last two installments in the popular animated franchise to best expectations and post the highest opening weekend numbers of the year so far. By comparison, 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon and 2014’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 opened to $43.7 million and $49.4 million, respectively, before legging it to $217.5 million and $177 million in North America. Notably, this is the first time Universal has released an installment in the series following their purchase of Dreamworks Animation in 2016 (the first film was released by Paramount and the second by Fox).

Billed as the final installment in the HTTYD series, The Hidden World debuted in North America with its coffers already overflowing from a strong performance over the last several weeks in international markets, where it took in an impressive $180 million-plus prior to the weekend. Stateside, strong critical reviews (it has a score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes) and pent-up demand from audiences who enjoyed the first two entries (it had a strong showing in our Trailer Impact surveys, with 73% of audiences polled stating their interest in seeing the film) helped push it over the top, allowing it to become the year’s first true blockbuster opening. Additionally, an apparent lack of enthusiasm for The LEGO Movie 2 opened a wider-than-expected berth among family audiences, giving The Hidden World a larger portion of that demo to itself this weekend. Including that $2.5 million in Fandango previews, Dragon‘s total now stands at $58 million through Sunday.

Dropping to second place after a better-than-expected debut last weekend was Alita: Battle Angel, which fell a steep 58% to an estimated $12 million in weekend number two. That gives the Fox sci-fi $60.6 million to date, a number that pales in comparison to its reported $170 million production budget. At this point, international grosses will be key for the James Cameron-produced actioner, which, while apparently well-liked by those who have seen it (opening day audiences awarded it an “A-” Cinemascore, while it boasts a strong 94% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes), simply didn’t break out the way it needed to given its hefty price tag.

The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part finished in third place with an estimated $10 million in its third weekend of release, bringing the animated sequel to $83.6 million after 17 days in theaters. The Warner Bros. title is currently running a whopping ?% behind the first LEGO Movie at the same point in its run and ?% behind The LEGO Batman Movie. No doubt, the film took a sizable hit from How to Train Your Dragon 3 this weekend. While it’s on track to top $100 million, LEGO 2 nonetheless counts as a major disappointment for a franchise that already suffered one notable underperformer with 2017’s The LEGO Ninjago Movie.

Fourth place went to Fighting with My Family, which brought in an estimated $8 million in its wide expansion after debuting in just four locations last weekend. That counts as a decent result for the MGM release, which boasts a reported budget of $11 million and which sold to the studio for $17 million back in 2017. The film benefitted from strong reviews (it’s at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes) and the presence of box office-dynamo Dwayne Johnson in the cast. Its total now stands at $8.2 million.

Isn’t It Romantic dropped to fifth place in its sophomore frame with an estimated $7.5 million, bringing the total for the Rebel Wilson rom-com to $33.7 million since debuting on February 13. That’s a 47% dip for the Warner Bros./New Line release, which is performing similarly to this month’s other fantasy rom-com What Men Want.

Speaking of What Men Want, the Taraji P. Henson comedy came in sixth place with an estimated $5.2 million in its third weekend of release, bringing its domestic total to a healthy $45 million after 17 days.

Last weekend’s surprise underperformer Happy Death Day 2U dropped to seventh place in its sophomore frame with an estimated $5 million, bringing the horror sequel to just $21.6 million so far. For the record, that’s several million shy of what the first Happy Death Day made in its opening weekend alone ($26 million). That’s a notable hiccup for a series that was previously being viewed as yet another successful franchise launch for Blumhouse.

Eighth place went to the Liam Neeson action film Cold Pursuit, which brought in an estimated $3.3 million in its third weekend. The Lionsgate/Summit release currently has $27 million in the bank and is performing similarly to last year’s Neeson release The Commuter ($36.3 million total).

Dropping to ninth place was STX’s The Upside, which brought in an estimated $3.2 million in its seventh weekend of release, bringing its total of $99.7 million. This week it will become the fifth $100 million live-action grosser of Hart’s career after Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Ride Along, Central Intelligence, and Scary Movie 3.

Finally, in tenth place, Roadside Attractions’ faith-based sports drama Run the Race (executive-produced by former NFL star and current MLB outfielder Tim Tebow) brought in an estimated $2.2 million on 853 screens. That’s a better debut than last year’s Christian-themed release Indivisible, which opened to $1.5 million on about the same number of screens back in October, but a far cry from Roadside Attractions’ breakout faith-based hit I Can Only Imagine last year. That film opened to $17.1 million last spring and finished its domestic run with $83.4 million.

Overseas Update:

How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World brought in an estimated $34.7 million overseas this weekend, bringing its international total to a sensational $216.9 million and its worldwide tally to $274.9 million. The animated threequel opens in China on March 1.

Alita: Battle Angel brought in an impressive $92.4 million in 82 markets this weekend, including a $62.3 million debut in China, which counts as Fox’s biggest opening of all time in the country. The film’s international total now stands at $202.7 million, while its global cume is $263.3 million. Notably, 48% of Alita‘s overseas grosses have come from 3D showings, while 10% have come from IMAX.


Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, FEB. 22 – SUN, FEB. 24

#TITLEWEEKENDLOCATIONSAVG.TOTALWKS.DIST.
1How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World$55,530,0004,259$13,038$55,530,0004Universal / DreamWorks Animation
2Alita: Battle Angel$12,000,000-58%3,80212$3,156$60,681,068220th Century Fox
3The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part$10,015,000-52%3,833-470$2,613$83,619,0395Warner Bros.
4Fighting With My Family$8,012,0005673%2,7112707$2,955$8,227,0212MGM
5Isn’t It Romantic$7,510,000-47%3,4440$2,181$33,768,7422Warner Bros.
6What Men Want$5,200,000-51%2,389-523$2,177$45,061,0663Paramount
7Happy Death Day 2U$4,990,000-47%3,2125$1,554$21,612,8802Universal Pictures
8Cold Pursuit$3,300,000-45%2,320-310$1,422$27,085,5673Lionsgate / Summit
9The Upside$3,210,000-42%2,148-633$1,494$99,739,4097STX Entertainment
10Green Book$2,090,000-28%1,253-365$1,668$69,607,68615Universal Pictures
11Glass$1,764,000-55%1,446-1003$1,220$107,929,0556Universal
#TITLEWEEKENDLOCATIONSAVG.TOTALWKS.DIST.
1Run The Race$2,273,050853$2,665$2,273,0501Roadside Attractions
2Total Dhamaal$950,000202$4,703$950,0001FIP
3Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse$865,000-57%743-464$1,164$184,905,02511Sony / Columbia
4Aquaman$765,000-59%741-523$1,032$332,940,54711Warner Bros.
5Vice$731,39128%7020$1,042$47,214,0419Annapurna
6A Star is Born$700,000-10%745-98$940$210,933,19821Warner Bros.
7Bohemian Rhapsody$645,000-34%424-138$1,521$213,138,5001720th Century Fox
8The 2019 Oscar Nominated Short Films$598,000-27%41040$1,459$3,205,4313ShortsTV w/ Magnolia Pictures
9They Shall Not Grow Old$550,000-46%448-178$1,228$16,409,37410Warner Bros.
10The Favourite$540,000-16%288-36$1,875$32,107,72814Fox Searchlight
11Arctic$522,452116%257194$2,033$1,076,2574Bleecker Street
12Ralph Breaks the Internet$399,000-60%406-948$983$199,891,96714Disney
13Miss Bala$350,000-63%515-657$680$14,614,0704Sony Pictures
14Cold War$330,421-21%25912$1,276$4,125,21110Amazon Studios
15A Dog’s Way Home$262,000-70%417-463$628$41,170,2727Sony Pictures
16Bumblebee$210,000-53%228-356$921$126,921,04510Paramount Pictures
17Mary Poppins Returns$195,000-53%234-111$833$170,934,25310Disney
18Escape Room$195,000-68%264-371$739$56,127,8268Sony Pictures
19If Beale Street Could Talk$176,729-19%127-38$1,392$14,458,62911Annapurna
20The Wife$153,250119%204127$751$9,417,26228Sony Pictures Classics
21Capernaum$133,310-30%115-21$1,159$1,234,00511Sony Pictures Classics
22Stan & Ollie$126,335-49%128-82$987$5,001,2789Sony Pictures Classics
23On The Basis Of Sex$120,000-49%129-57$930$24,483,2179Focus Features
#TITLEWEEKENDLOCATIONSAVG.TOTALWKS.DIST.
1Everybody Knows$355,00084%7148$5,000$727,8213Focus Features
2Never Look Away$167,59931%8049$2,095$484,2945Sony Pictures Classics
3Free Solo$138,800-26%90-18$1,542$16,488,72122National Geographic Entertainment
4Lords of Chaos$60,02718%7058$858$180,8073Gunpowder & Sky
5The Iron Orchard$49,2508$6,156$49,2501mTuckman Media
6Birds of Passage$40,09774%108$4,010$81,9592The Orchard
7The Invisibles$23,600-28%190$1,242$208,3695Greenwich Entertainment
8To Dust$19,927-27%173$1,172$69,2903Good Deed Entertainment
9Wrestle$7,1001$7,100$7,1001Oscilloscope Laboratories
10Ruben Brandt, Collector$6,91315%31$2,304$18,2252Sony Pictures Classics
11CATVIDEOFEST 2019$6,125-46%21$3,063$29,9792Oscilloscope

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