Over the past several years, Disney has achieved a great deal of box office success producing live-action remakes of their classic animated titles. Just a year ago, Lilo & Stitch grossed over $1 billion worldwide, illustrating there’s still a sizable audience for this trend. Unsurprisingly, other studios have looked to get in on the action. Also a year ago, DreamWorks released a remake of the first How to Train Your Dragon film, which was a hit both critically and commercially. After that triumphant run in theaters, the movie continues to be a major draw now that it’s available on streaming.
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For the week of February 9th-15th, How to Train Your Dragon was the third-most-watched film on Netflix. During that time, it accumulated 6.1 million views and was watched for a total of 12.7 hours. It was behind only The Investigation of Lucy Letby and Joe’s College Road Trip on the chart. Impressively, How to Train Your Dragon beat out Kpop Demon Hunters for third place. This was the remake’s first week in Netflix’s top 10.
How to Train Your Dragon Is Now a Live-Action Series
People were understandably skeptical about the live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake when it was first announced. While many of Disney’s remakes have fared well at the box office, more than a few of them earned a mixed reception. The concern was that How to Train Your Dragon would just be a cash grab, but it ended up arguably setting a new standard for what these live-action remakes can be like. It’s true that the live-action How to Train Your Dragon is extremely faithful to the original animated movie that fans know and love, but it does enough to justify its existence by adding enough to the overall experience, taking advantage of the different medium to craft something that arguably has a bit more depth.
DreamWorks was so confident in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon that a sequel was announced months before the film hit theaters. That confidence was not misplaced; not only did the new How to Train Your Dragon fare well with critics, it became the highest-grossing installment in the entire franchise (unadjusted for inflation), earning $636.2 million worldwide. One of the industry’s most popular animated properties has now become a hit live-action series that’s showing no signs of slowing down. In addition to direct follow-ups, director Dean DeBlois has hinted at the possibility of spinoffs that further flesh out the universe.
It remains to be seen how the How to Train Your Dragon 2 remake pans out, but the pieces are in place for another hit. DeBlois is returning as director, and the filmmakers should benefit from their experience on the first movie. It’s clear they have a solid formula in place and should now be even more assured in their abilities. The live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2 could be an immersive, sweeping fantasy epic that impresses with its grand scale and scope. It also doesn’t hurt that Oscar winner Cate Blanchett is returning to play Valka, the character she voices in the animated movies. Blanchett is one of her generation’s most acclaimed actresses and elevates any project she’s in.
Assuming How to Train Your Dragon 2 is another success, odds are DreamWorks will move forward with a remake of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. After that, there’s no telling where the studio can go. How to Train Your Dragon is arguably the DreamWorks animated franchise that best lends itself to the live-action medium, which is probably why there’s been discussions about spinoffs and other franchise expansions. That would be a smart way to keep the lucrative series going, surprising fans with new stories that build upon the rich fantastical lore.
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Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme -
A photo of the Retrovolt Arcade taken in 2017, showing several classic arcade cabinets and stools. -
Image Courtesy of MAPPA
