• DreamWorks Animation/Universal’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” opened with an estimated $US55.5 million at the domestic box office over the weekend.
• That’s the biggest opening for the franchise in its history.
• STXfilms’ “The Upside” crossed the $US100 million mark worldwide, making it a big success story during a weak start to the 2019 box office.

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“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” has been touted as the final movie in the DreamWorks Animation franchise, but that’s hard to believe after the opening it just had, which topped the previous films in the franchise.

The first movie, released by Paramount in 2010, introduced us to the young Viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his dragon. It had a number one opening weekend of $US43.7 million and went on to make over $US494 million worldwide. That was followed in 2014 with “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” which opened with $US49.4 million and had a global take of over $US621 million.

Five years later, with the help of video games and a TV series upping the IP’s profile, the third movie, “The Hidden World” (released by Universal), topped the previous two with an estimated $US55.5 million opening over the weekend (it has a worldwide total of over $US275 million).

An impressive take for the third movie in a franchise, which typically performs the worst and indicates why a franchise is ending.

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“The Hidden World” had the advantage of opening when there was very little competition in theatres, and it also probably helped that the movie was being marketed as the close of the franchise. But with all three movies doing better than the previous release, it will be hard for DreamWorks/Universal to not at least consider the possibility of adding to the franchise down the road.

The 2019 domestic box office hasn’t had the start that 2018 did (no “Black Panther”-like release this year) but there has been one success story.

STXfilms’ “The Upside,” the $US37.5 million-budgeted dramedy starring Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart, has grossed over $US100 million at the worldwide box office (with the movie crossing the $US100 million mark domestically in the coming days).

That’s an incredible feat for a movie that STX rescued (and recut to make it PG-13 rated) after it was originally intended to be released by The Weinstein Company before sexual misconduct allegations brought its leader, Harvey Weinstein, and the company down.

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