‘28 Years Later’ rages to $60m debut at global box office as ‘Elio’ disappoints; ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ soars to $358m

Worldwide box office: June 20-22

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.  

‘How To Train Your Dragon’ holds firm at global top spot

Universal easily resisted the challenge of new releases 28 Years Later and Elio, holding firm at the worldwide top spot with How To Train Your Dragon. The DreamWorks live-action remake grossed an estimated $90.6m worldwide for the weekend period, taking the total after two weekends to $358.2m.

A strong hold in China saw the territory edge Mexico as the top international market at the weekend, although Mexico remains ahead in cumulative ($24.5m v $23.2m).

UK/Ireland suffered a bigger drop (down 55%), hit not only by the continuing heatwave locally but also the power of new release 28 Years Later in its home market. UK/Ireland ranks third among international territories on Dragon with a $16.8m total.

Conversely Brazil enjoyed the gentlest drop of any major market with the film, dipping just 13%, boosted by the local Corpus Christi holiday. How To Train Your Dragon retained the top spot in Brazil, and the cumulative total there is now $12.6m.

The other top markets in cumulative for How To Train Your Dragon are South Korea ($9.6m), Australia ($8.6m), Spain ($8.3m), France ($8.3m), Germany ($7.0m) and Italy $6.3m). Yet to release is Japan, where the film lands on September 5.

This live-action version looks on track to surpass the box office of all three films in the animation franchise, which is led by 2014’s How To Train Your Dragon 2 with $622m, according to available data. (This comparison is not adjusted for inflation.)

The summer holiday is still ahead, although How To Train Your Dragon will share audiences with current releases Lilo & Stitch and Elio, plus July family titles Smurfs and The Bad Guys 2 as well as four-quadrant films such as Superman and The Fantastic 4: First Steps. 

‘28 Years Later’ outpaces predecessors 

Sony’s 28 Years Later looks on track to far exceed the two previous entries in the viral-infection horror franchise, thanks to an estimated debut of $60.0m. Honours are even between North America and international (59 markets) with an estimated $30.0m for each.

Previously, 2002’s 28 Days Later grossed $74.9m (including rereleases) and 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later reached $72.3m, according to available data. 28 Years Later will overtake both these lifetime totals this week.

Among international territories, home market UK/Ireland leads with an estimated four-day $6.4m, ahead of Mexico ($2.7m), Australia ($1.7m), South Korea ($1.5m), Germany ($1.3m), France ($1.3m) and Spain ($1.2m). Sony has reported Middle East region as a single market ($1.8m).

28 Years Later reunites the franchise’s original director and writer Danny Boyle and Alex Garland (who served only as executive producers on sequel 28 Weeks Later). The new film is the first in a planned trilogy, which continues next year with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

28 Years Later has opened in North America bigger than Christmas horror release Nosferatu ($21.7m debut), while for international the $30m opening is on par with Nosferatu. Robert Eggers’ film went on to achieve a worldwide total of $181.3m, which looks a realistic target for 28 Years Later.

The film stars Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jack O’Connell, newcomer Alfie Williams and Ralph Fiennes.

‘Elio’ struggles with mild $35m debut

The commercial perils of original stories, even for a strong animation brand such as Pixar, are demonstrated again with the release of Elio. The space adventure has debuted with an estimated $35.0m – $21.0m in North America and $14.0m across 43 international markets.

For North America, this is the lowest ever debut for a Pixar title, below Elemental, which launched in June 2023 with $29.6m, and the original Toy Story ($29.1m debut in 1995). (NB this is not counting Soul, Luca and Turning Red which received belated domestic releases during the pandemic era, having already been made available in the home.)

However, the fact that Elemental went on to achieve a robust $496.4m global total, enjoying a strong sustained run, gives Disney/Pixar hope that Elio can stay the course. Critic and audience scores are positive, especially the latter – an A CinemaScore (A+ for under-25s), and 4.5 out of 5 at Comscore’s PostTrak.

Among international markets, South Korea rules with an estimated $1.8m, ahead of Mexico ($1.4m), France ($1.3m) and UK/Ireland ($1.2m). Elio is competing not just with the powerful How To Train Your Dragon, but also Disney’s own Lilo & Stitch, which added an estimated $29.4m for the weekend period, taking the total to a mighty $910.3m.

Elio has released in advance of summer school holidays in most markets – so Disney will be banking on wider audiences embracing the film as they become more available.

Several key markets are yet to release. China welcomes Elio this coming weekend (alongside mid-size territories Vietnam, Sweden, Israel and Finland). Spain follows on July 9, with Japan on August 1.

‘She’s Got No Name’ tops China box office

Landing in fifth place in Comscore’s worldwide box office chart – below a quartet of US studio titles – is She’s Got No Name, so far released in China only. Comscore reports the film at $23.6m for the weekend period, and $26.5m in total. (Local data gatherer Artisan Gateway has the numbers a little higher: respectively $24.1m and $26.9m.)

Peter Chen’s film, which is set during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in the 1940s and stars Zhang Ziyi, premiered out of competition in Cannes in May 2024, and then played as the opening film of the Shanghai International Film Festival in June 2025.

She’s Got No Name has achieved the biggest opening of any local film in China since Ne Zha 2 and Detective Chinatown 1900 launched in late January.

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