NEW YORK — Neither Pixar nor zombies were enough to topple ''How to Train Your Dragon" from the No. 1 slot at North American box offices over the weekend. The Universal Pictures live-action remake remained the top film, bringing in $37 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, despite the sizeable new releases of ''Elio'' and ''28 Years Later.'' , according to studio estimates Sunday. ''How To Train Your Dragon'' has rapidly amassed $358.2 million worldwide.
Six years after its last entry, the Dean DeBlois-directed ''How To Train Your Dragon'' has proven a potent revival of the DreamWorks Animation franchise. A sequel is already in the works for the $150 million production, which remakes the 2010 animated tale about a Viking boy and his dragon.
Pixar's ''Elio'' had a particularly tough weekend. The Walt Disney Co. animation studio has often launched some of its biggest titles in June, including ''Cars,'' ''WALL-E'' and ''Toy Story 4.'' But ''Elio,'' a science fiction adventure about a boy who dreams of meeting aliens, notched a modest $21 million, the lowest opening ever for Pixar.
''This is a weak opening for a new Pixar movie,'' said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe. ''These would be solid numbers for another original animation film, but this is Pixar, and by Pixar's remarkable standard, the opening is well below average.''
''Elio,'' originally set for release in early 2024, had a bumpy road to the screen. Adrian Molina — co-director of ''Coco'' — was replaced mid-production by Domee Shi (''Turning Red'') and Madeline Sharafian. Back at Disney's D23 conference in 2022, America Ferrera appeared to announce her role as Elio's mother, but the character doesn't even exist in the revamped film.
Disney and Pixar spent at least $150 million making ''Elio,'' which didn't fare any better internationally than it did in North America, bringing in just $14 million from 43 territories. Pixar stumbled coming out of the pandemic before stabilizing performance with 2023's ''Elemental'' ($496.4 million worldwide) and 2024's ''Inside Out 2'' ($1.7 billion), which was the company's biggest box office hit.
''Elemental'' was Pixar's previously lowest earning film, launching with $29.6 million. It rallied in later weeks to collect nearly half a billion dollars at the box office. The company's first movie, ''Toy Story,'' opened with $29.1 million in 1995, or $60 when adjusted for inflation. It remains to be seen whether ''Elio's'' decent reviews and ''A'' from CinemaScore audiences can lead it to repeat ''Elemental's'' trajectory.
With most schools on summer break, the competition for family audiences was stiff. Disney's own ''Lilo & Stitch,'' another live-action remake, continued to pull in young moviegoers. It grossed $9.7 million in its fifth weekend, bringing its global tally to $910.3 million. .