I saw How to Train Your Dragon 2 last weekend and I loved it! Pretty much better and as good as the first one!
Weekend Report: 'Jump Street' Sequel Scores, 'Dragon' Disappoints
As expected, highly-anticipated sequels 22 Jump Street and How to Train Your Dragon 2 took the top two spots at the box office this weekend. It came as quite the surprise, though, that the R-rated comedy easily took first place ahead of the DreamWorks Animation movie.
In second place, DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon 2 opened to $49.5 million. That's an improvement over the first movie's $43.7 million, though it's far from the type of gain expected given the fact that the first Dragon is only of the most beloved animated movies of the past decade. It's also the first June animated release to fall short of $60 million since Ratatouille opened to $47 million back in 2007.
There are likely a few reasons behind Dragon's lackluster debut. First, the movie's marketing positioned it as a dramatic action/adventure, while only hinting at the movie's humor. Historically, the most successful animated movies put laughs first and story second. This calls to mind action-heavy DreamWorks Animation sequel Kung Fu Panda 2, which was unable to leverage goodwill from the first movie in to any kind of sequel bump (it ultimately earned much less than its predecessor).
Another factor is the four-year gap between movies. While audiences loved the first movie at the time, the excitement has surely died down a bit during the long wait. The brand did stay active during that time thanks to the DreamWorks' Dragons show, though that also may have reduced the must-see factor for the big-screen follow-up (if you're seeing these characters for free on TV, is the movie worth the ticket price?).
Dragon's audience was 53 percent female and 56 percent under the age of 25. They awarded it a strong "A" CinemaScore. The movie faces very little competition for the remainder of Summer, and will certainly hold up well in the long run. It's unlikely, though, that it comes anywhere close to matching its predecessor's $218 million.
Around-the-World Roundup
Coinciding with its domestic debut, How to Train Your Dragon 2 opened in a handful of international markets this weekend. Including some minor debuts last weekend, the movie has earned $26.1 million so far. It had a huge $12.8 million debut in Russia, and had the biggest animated opening ever in Malaysia ($2.3 million) and Singapore ($1.7 million). It also had the second-biggest animated opening in the Philippines ($1.9 million) and India ($1.2 million). Next weekend, it expands to 28 additional markets including Australia, Brazil and Mexico, and should ultimately have no trouble out-grossing its predecessor ($277 million).
Source:
Box Office MojoLike mother, like son! What was your favorite scene in How to Train Your Dragon 2?
Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 2:46 am
