Box Office Dominance: How to Train Your Dragon Soars While Families Await Pixar’s Elio

Live-action remake leads weekend as original animated content remains scarce in summer 2025

The weekend ending June 15th, 2025 painted a telling picture of Hollywood’s current state, with two remakes of beloved animated films dominating the box office while original family content remains notably absent from theaters. Universal’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon claimed the top spot with an impressive$83.7 million domestic opening, while Disney’s Lilo & Stitch continued its remarkable run, adding$15.5 million in its fourth weekend for a global total approaching$815 million.

The success of these remakes highlights both the power of recognizable intellectual property and a concerning trend in family entertainment. As industry analyst Maxance Vincent noted in his box office report, “It paints a rather grim picture of the state of family entertainment,” pointing out that aside from the upcoming Elio, “there is literally nothing else being offered for families but those two films.”

Weekend Box Office Results Reveal Industry Patterns

According to The Numbers, the top ten films for the weekend ending June 15th showcased a mix of established franchises and limited original content:

1. How to Train Your Dragon (Universal):$83.7M – 4,356 theaters
2. Lilo & Stitch (Disney):$15.5M (-52%) – 3,675 theaters
3. Materialists (A24):$12.0M – 2,844 theaters
4. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (Paramount):$10.3M (-31%) – 2,942 theaters
5. From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (Lionsgate):$9.4M (-62%) – 3,409 theaters

The live-action How to Train Your Dragon, directed by Dean DeBlois who also helmed the original animated film, benefited from both nostalgia and cutting-edge visual effects. The film’s strong opening demonstrates audiences’ continued appetite for familiar stories presented in new formats.

Original Content Struggles to Find Footing

Among the few bright spots for original content was Celine Song’s Materialists, which opened at number three with$12.0 million. The A24 romantic drama, starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal, represents the type of mid-budget original filmmaking that has become increasingly rare in the current marketplace.

Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck also expanded to more theaters, though it “fell short of expectations, with a$2.1 million tally, despite great reviews and amazing word-of-mouth,” according to Awards Radar. Vincent emphasized the film’s quality, urging readers: “If you’ve seen all of the aforementioned movies, but not The Life of Chuck, run, don’t walk.”

Upcoming Releases Promise Fresh Content

The weekend of June 20-22 brings significant new releases that could reshape the summer box office landscape. Most notably, Pixar’s Elio arrives on June 20th, marking what Cinemark Theatres describes as “the first original animated film released in a cinema this year.”

Elio follows the story of Elio Solis, voiced by Yonas Kibreab, who finds himself mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador to an intergalactic council. The film represents Pixar’s attempt to recapture the magic of original storytelling following the massive success of Inside Out 2.

Industry forecasters are cautiously optimistic about Elio‘s prospects. Box Office Theory projects a$34-43 million opening weekend, noting that “if reviews and marketing are strong, there could be even more upside for Elio‘s debut than forecast models currently reflect.”

Horror Returns with 28 Years Later

Also opening June 20th is Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, the long-awaited sequel to the acclaimed zombie franchise. The film reunites director Boyle with writer Alex Garland, the creative team behind the original 28 Days Later. Box Office Pro forecasts a$30-40 million opening for the horror sequel, which benefits from what multiple outlets reported was “the second-most viewed horror trailer online in history behind It: Chapter Two.”

Industry Voices Express Concern and Hope

The current box office landscape has prompted reflection from industry observers about the state of theatrical entertainment. The dominance of remakes and sequels, while financially successful, raises questions about creative risk-taking in Hollywood.

“The highest-grossing family movie of the year (and movie overall), Ne Zha 2, was a sequel to an already profitable animated film,” Vincent observed, highlighting how even international successes rely on established properties.

However, the upcoming release of Elio represents hope for original content. As one industry forecaster noted, the film’s success could demonstrate that audiences remain hungry for fresh stories when they’re well-crafted and properly marketed.

Looking Ahead: Summer Competition Intensifies

The remainder of June promises continued box office excitement with additional major releases. Brad Pitt’s Formula 1 racing drama F1 arrives June 27th, alongside the horror sequel M3GAN 2.0. These films will compete for audience attention in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

The success or failure of original content like Elio could significantly impact Hollywood’s approach to green-lighting future projects. If audiences embrace Pixar’s latest original story, it may encourage studios to invest more heavily in fresh intellectual property rather than relying solely on established franchises.

The Broader Implications

The current box office trends reflect broader changes in how audiences consume entertainment. While streaming platforms have provided outlets for mid-budget original content, theaters have increasingly become the domain of big-budget spectacles and familiar franchises.

The performance of films like Materialists and The Life of Chuck suggests there remains an audience for original, character-driven stories, but these films face significant challenges in competing with franchise tentpoles for screen time and marketing attention.

As the summer movie season continues, the industry will be watching closely to see whether original content can find its footing alongside the remake and sequel dominance that has characterized 2025’s box office landscape.

The weekend’s results serve as both a celebration of successful filmmaking and a reminder of the challenges facing original storytelling in today’s theatrical marketplace. With Elio poised to test audience appetite for fresh animated adventures, the coming weeks will provide crucial data about the future direction of family entertainment.

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