May holdovers mainly subsidized the last four weeks, as underwhelming new releases and a smaller number of available films led to a historically weak total.
To be brutally honest, I'm a bit underwhelmed by HTTYD grosses. I loved the live action remake and was half way hoping it could exchange places with Lilo & Stitch. When you consider that Lion King, Beauty & The Beast, Lilo & Stitch, Aladdin, Alice in the Wonderland, and The Jungle Book all either surpassed the $1B mark or flirted with it, I was hoping that HTTYD would experience that level of success as well. But alas, based on it's trajectory, it's likely to not even do the adjusted for inflation gross of it's originator at $311m domestic.
Here's my unsolicited stupid advice to Dreamworks. Now that you've broken the seal and done a live action remake, don't just redo Part 2, give people a whole new story with the same characters and the same director, so they have a new reason to see this one. The live action remake didn't exactly expand your universe, so it's unlikely the second will unless you give people a reason to show up. Don't just follow Disney, which Dreamworks has sort of been doing for years, and actually pumping out quality product, but met with less box office and less award acclaim. Maybe stop following and start leading, because I think it won't be long before the diminishing returns or diminishing library of Disney Live Action remakes forces them to start pumping out original, but based on previous animated IP products, to keep those dollars coming in, and then everyone will be 'gee, why didn't we think of that.'
To be brutally honest, I'm a bit underwhelmed by HTTYD grosses. I loved the live action remake and was half way hoping it could exchange places with Lilo & Stitch. When you consider that Lion King, Beauty & The Beast, Lilo & Stitch, Aladdin, Alice in the Wonderland, and The Jungle Book all either surpassed the $1B mark or flirted with it, I was hoping that HTTYD would experience that level of success as well. But alas, based on it's trajectory, it's likely to not even do the adjusted for inflation gross of it's originator at $311m domestic.
Here's my unsolicited stupid advice to Dreamworks. Now that you've broken the seal and done a live action remake, don't just redo Part 2, give people a whole new story with the same characters and the same director, so they have a new reason to see this one. The live action remake didn't exactly expand your universe, so it's unlikely the second will unless you give people a reason to show up. Don't just follow Disney, which Dreamworks has sort of been doing for years, and actually pumping out quality product, but met with less box office and less award acclaim. Maybe stop following and start leading, because I think it won't be long before the diminishing returns or diminishing library of Disney Live Action remakes forces them to start pumping out original, but based on previous animated IP products, to keep those dollars coming in, and then everyone will be 'gee, why didn't we think of that.'
That's my stupid idea.