DreamWorks Animation got some welcome news last week, courtesy of some dragons.
The Glendale studio’s latest release, the well-reviewed How to Train Your Dragon 2, passed the $500-million (Dh1.8 billion) mark at the global box office, making it the highest-grossing animated movie so far this year, the studio said on Friday.
Ticket sales for the sequel have surpassed the original 2010 movie, which generated $495 million in revenues, giving DreamWorks some relief after a rocky stretch at the box office that has unnerved investors.
The studio took write-downs on two previous movies, Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Turbo.
“We have been incredibly proud of How to Train Your Dragon 2 from the moment we saw it and we’re thrilled that it has been embraced around the world with such enthusiasm,” said chief marketing officer Dawn Taubin. “This film is not only an artistic and technical achievement for DreamWorks, but its strength at the global box office proves that audiences are embracing it as one of the most entertaining films of the year.”
Overseas run
While US ticket sales of $170.6 million have been lower than expected, the film, which had a budget of about $145 million, has done a much stronger business overseas.
Through Thursday morning, How to Train Your Dragon 2 has grossed $170.6 million in the US and $331.2 million in international markets, including China, where it debuted on Thursday.
The movie, which was released on June 13, has already done brisk business in Britain, Russia, Brazil, Australia and France. Dragon 2 was released in Italy over the weekend.
“This is a tremendous result for such a deserving, critically acclaimed film,” said Chris Aronson, president of US theatrical distribution at 20th Century Fox, which distributes DreamWorks movies. “We look forward to riding Dragon 2 to greater box office heights.”
