HTTYD takes flight, 28 Years Later races to $60 million, and Elio achieves disappointing records for Disney-Pixar at the box office.

      In addition to How to Train Your Dragon maintaining its lead at the global box office, this weekend posed some uncertainties. How would Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's horror sequel, 23 years in the making, perform amid the blockbuster frenzy, and what impact would Disney-Pixar's $150 million sci-fi adventure Elio face against strong holdovers like Lilo & Stitch? Continue reading for the insights.

      Universal's live-action adaptation of DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon easily topped the weekend box office with $37 million domestically, bringing its North American total to $160.5 million and its global earnings to $358.2 million.

      With that established, the more intriguing box office narratives emerge from the performance of two new wide releases this weekend.

      28 Years Later swiftly launched with Thursday night previews totaling $5.3 million, suggesting projections around $45 million. However, it seems that word-of-mouth may be impacting Danny Boyle's remarkable sequel, with the film ending its domestic opening weekend at $30 million for the three-day period. This figure was matched internationally, where the unexpected sequel generated another $30 million, resulting in a worldwide total of $60 million.

      This amount covers the film's production and marketing costs, so fans are hopeful that the movie gains traction, especially since a sequel directed by Nia DaCosta – The Bone Temple – is already completed, while a third installment, which Boyle has mentioned will feature Cillian Murphy's Jim, hinges on the box office performance of the first two. Regardless, this still marks a strong opening, equal to the entire domestic earnings of the original 2002 film, which concluded at $28 million.

      In contrast, Pixar's Elio experienced the studio’s lowest opening weekend ever, with a disappointing $21 million. The situation was not much improved internationally, as it barely managed $14 million, amounting to a total worldwide gross of only $35 million.

      Meanwhile, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning continued to perform well, earning $6.6 million and surpassing the North American total of its predecessor ($172 million). M:I 8 now stands at $179.4 million domestically, with a global total of $540.9 million.

      As always, tell us what you watched at the box office this weekend by reaching out on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…