DreamWorks Animation officially has a franchise.
“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” the sequel to the Oscar-nominated 2010 film, broke through the $500 million worldwide box office barrier on Thursday, thanks to a solid $5.6 million opening in China.
Also read: ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ Review: Something Gets Lost in the Leap from Romp to Epic
“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,” DreamWorks Animation’s chief marketing officer Dawn Taubin said. “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.”
Also read: Dreamworks Animation Hit With Investor Class Action Lawsuit Over Financial Malfeasance
The film, which was written and directed by Dean DeBois and stars the voices of Jay Baruchel and Gerard Butler, made $170.6 million in the United States — down from the $217 million that the original grossed in the US — and thus far, $331.2 million globally, which is a strong improvement on the $277 million the first film made around the globe.
Also read: DreamWorks Animation Loses Money for the Second Quarter in a Row
The sequel has a 92 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, an outstanding figure, though a bit lower than the 98 percent the original earned.