‘How to Train Your Dragon’ flies high with $83.7 million opening

LOS ANGELES – “How to Train Your Dragon” is slaying the competition at the box office, opening with $83.7 million this weekend to lead all films in North America, according to industry estimates released Sunday.

Like Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” — the top-grossing film for the previous three weeks — “How to Train Your Dragon” is a live action remake of an earlier animated hit, 2010’s “How to train Your Dragon” from DreamWorks Animation.

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Mason Thames, right, and Nico Parker in a scene from “How to Train Your Dragon.”, (Universal Pictures via AP)

The new film stars Mason Thames and Nico Parker and was directed by Dean DeBlois, who directed all three animated “How to Train Your Dragon” films, and also co-directed the animated 2002 “Lilo & Stitch.”

“Lilo & Stitch” slipped to second place with $15.5 million Friday through Sunday at theaters in the United States and Canada, Comscore reported.

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Gerard Butler in a scene from “How to Train Your Dragon.”, (Universal Pictures via AP)

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The romantic drama “Materialists,” starring Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans and Dakota Johnson, opened in third place with $12 million.

“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” was fourth with $10.3 million in its fourth week in theaters, followed by “Ballerina,” which grossed $9.4 million in its second weekend.

Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases were “Karate Kid: Legends” ($5 million), “Final Destination Bloodlines” ($3.9 million), “The Phoenician Scheme” ($3 million), “The Life of Chuck” ($2.1 million) and “Sinners” ($1.4 million).

This weekend’s overall three-day box office haul was estimated at $151.7 million. The year-to-date total is $3.729 billion — up 23 percent from the figure at this time last year, according to Comscore.

“How to Train Your Dragon” follows the unlikely friendship between a young Viking named Hiccup (Mason Thames) and a dragon called Toothless.

‘How to Train Your Dragon’ trailer

The film earned more than $114.1 million internationally, bringing the global total to $197.8 million. (With CNS report)

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