Latest news with #DreamworksAnimation
Pink Villa
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Box Office: How To Train Your Dragon, Ballerina and Materialists look at steady run in India, collectively make Rs 30 crore in 7 days
How To Train Your Dragon, Ballerina, and Materialists have completed their first week at the box office today. Released simultaneously on June 13, all three Hollywood films have managed to cater to different sections of the audience and have maintained a steady run at the Indian box office, with an aggregate total of Rs 30 crore in 7 days. How To Train Your Dragon leads, Ballerina follows, Materialists records best box office trends The live-action movie How To Train Your Dragon smashed over Rs 14.85 crore net at the Indian box office in its opening week. The movie added around Rs 5 crore from Monday to Thursday, after an impressive weekend of Rs 9.85 crore. According to the trends, the Dean DeBlois-directed movie has the potential to gross over Rs 30 crore net in its entire theatrical run in India, which would be an encouraging result for a standalone live-action movie. While the Dreamworks Animation venture leads the pack, Ana de Armas starrer Ballerina managed to gain traction as well. Coming from the world of John Wick, the slick action movie netted Rs 7.65 crore in its opening weekend, followed by another Rs 3 crore on the weekdays from Monday to Thursday, taking the total 7-day cume to Rs 10.65 crore net in India. The third release, Materialists, witnessed the best box office trends compared to the other two releases with regard to its occupancy and growth. However, its opening week cume remained far behind due to less showcasing in the initial days. Starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans, Materialists netted Rs 2.85 crore in its first weekend and then went on to add another Rs 1.6 crore with an impressive hold on weekdays. It made a total sum of Rs 4.45 crore by the end of its first week. Day-wise India nett box office collections of How To Train Your Dragon, Ballerina and Materialists Particulars How To Train Your Dragon Ballerina Materialists Friday Rs 2.25 crore Rs 2.35 crore Rs 55 lakh Saturday Rs 3.60 crore Rs 2.80 crore Rs 1.15 crore Sunday Rs 4.00 crore Rs 2.50 crore Rs 1.15 crore Monday Rs 1.25 crore Rs 75 lakh Rs 40 lakh Tuesday Rs 1.40 crore Rs 90 lakh Rs 45 lakh Wednesday Rs 1.25 crore Rs 75 lakh Rs 40 lakh Thursday Rs 1.10 crore (est.) Rs 60 lakh (est.) Rs 35 lakh (est.) Total Rs 14.85 crore Rs 10.65 crore Rs 4.45 crore Stay Tuned To Pinkvilla For More Updates! Disclaimer: The box office figures are compiled from various sources and our research. The figures can be approximate, and Pinkvilla does not make any claims about the authenticity of the data. However, they are adequately indicative of the box-office performance of the films in question.
Sydney Morning Herald
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Dragon live-action remake maintains a safe distance from reality
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON ★★ PG, 125 minutes Even if your children have never seen the earlier version of How To Train Your Dragon released by Dreamworks Animation in 2010, they shouldn't have trouble predicting the plot of this live-action remake shot in picturesque Northern Ireland, especially if they've seen the Bluey episode that ruthlessly parodied the formula. 'Look, mate,' Bluey's dad reassured his daughter, 'I'm pretty sure that by the end of the movie, everyone will like that the monkey was different.' Similarly, there's little doubt things will work out for Hiccup (Mason Thames), a sensitive lad who struggles to fit in on an island of rough-and-tumble Vikings, let alone live up to the expectations of his chieftain dad (Gerard Butler, who voiced the same character in the animated version). This is quite a progressive community as far as Vikings go, non-sexist, racially diverse and welcoming to migrants willing to adopt the local way of life. That way of life does, however, non-negotiably revolve around slaying dragons – which Hiccup supports as much as anybody, until the day he finds himself face to face with the enemy and unable to deliver the fatal blow. All of this follows the outline of the animated movie, based on a children's novel by British writer Cressida Cowell and directed by the team of Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, also responsible for the original Lilo & Stitch. Returning here as solo writer-director, DeBlois evidently sees no need to mess with what worked in the past. If anything, he does his best to minimise any hint of topical relevance.
The Age
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
Dragon live-action remake maintains a safe distance from reality
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON ★★ PG, 125 minutes Even if your children have never seen the earlier version of How To Train Your Dragon released by Dreamworks Animation in 2010, they shouldn't have trouble predicting the plot of this live-action remake shot in picturesque Northern Ireland, especially if they've seen the Bluey episode that ruthlessly parodied the formula. 'Look, mate,' Bluey's dad reassured his daughter, 'I'm pretty sure that by the end of the movie, everyone will like that the monkey was different.' Similarly, there's little doubt things will work out for Hiccup (Mason Thames), a sensitive lad who struggles to fit in on an island of rough-and-tumble Vikings, let alone live up to the expectations of his chieftain dad (Gerard Butler, who voiced the same character in the animated version). This is quite a progressive community as far as Vikings go, non-sexist, racially diverse and welcoming to migrants willing to adopt the local way of life. That way of life does, however, non-negotiably revolve around slaying dragons – which Hiccup supports as much as anybody, until the day he finds himself face to face with the enemy and unable to deliver the fatal blow. All of this follows the outline of the animated movie, based on a children's novel by British writer Cressida Cowell and directed by the team of Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, also responsible for the original Lilo & Stitch. Returning here as solo writer-director, DeBlois evidently sees no need to mess with what worked in the past. If anything, he does his best to minimise any hint of topical relevance.
The Star
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
'How to Train Your Dragon' review: Finally, a remake that really soars
Cast: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Ruth Codd, Peter Serafinowicz, Murray McArthur THIS is Berk. And this is how you remake your hit dragon animated series. When the original How To Train Your Dragon (HTTYD) was released in 2010, it was a breakthrough for Dreamworks Animation, becoming the studio's biggest hit after the Shrek franchise. The combination of fantasy, drama, wonder, compelling characters, and dragons (of course), made it one of the best animated features of the year, and it still holds up brilliantly today. So why does it need a live-action version, you say? Well, sure, it's an almost beat for beat recreation of the animated feature, but what this version does is take an already great movie, and give it an even more epic sense of scale, dialling up the grandeur of its location, adding more excitement to the soaring flight of the dragons, and making the massive final boss fight much more dangerous and action-packed. Ok Hiccup, just stay down here while I save your butt, again. In case you have never seen HTTYD before, it revolves around Hiccup (played by Mason Thames), the enthusiastic but rather weak son of Berk village chief Stoick (Gerard Butler, reprising the role he voiced in the animation). Born into a society where the ability to kill a dragon is everything, Hiccup tries to make up for it with his inventive mind, and one of his gadgets actually manages to snag a Night Fury, one of the most feared dragons of them all. However, instead of killing it, he befriends the dragon, whom he names Toothless, and in the process, changes the entire future of Berk, its way of life, and the way they perceive dragons. After what happened to Olympus, London and Angel... I better make sure this movie doesn't turn into 'Berk Has Fallen' too. In a sheer quirk of fate, the two best live-action remakes of the year were of animated features directed by Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois – Lilo & Stitch, and now HTTYD. The decision to rehire DeBlois for this is an inspired one - he knows the franchise inside out (having also directed the second and third instalments of the animations), and thus, manages to not only remain faithful to the original, but also in some parts, improve upon it. Think Hiccup and Toothless' first flight in the animation was great? The live-action one is even better – as the duo swoop and dive through the landscapes of Iceland, the real-life location adds a profound sense of wonderment and grandeur to the scene. This could have gone so wrong if he had been Tooth-full instead of Tooth-less. The battle scenes are also a lot more explosive and epic than the animation, as live-action gives them a genuine sense of jeopardy that animation can't provide, leaving you on the edge of your seat (even if you've already watched the original countless times before). The casting is also pitch perfect here. Thames really embodies the Hiccup in the original, playing the character with a distinctly nerdy yet determined charm, with Nico Parker the perfect foil opposite him as the tough and ambitious Astrid. Gerard Butler's transition from animation to live-action is so seamless that it's hard to imagine anyone else in the role, while Nick Frost is also memorable as his right-hand man, blacksmith Gobber. I'm out of weapons to throw! Where's my Batman soundtrack vinyl when I need it? Oh, and have we mentioned the dragons yet? If you love those mythical creatures in whatever form they come in, trust me, you'll roar with approval at how they are portrayed here. Unlike another certain animation studio, which has made over 20 live-action remakes already, this is Dreamwork's first one. And hopefully, this will be the kind of quality and high standard that we can expect from them in future remakes as well. If you're a fan of the original, you will definitely love this as well.
The Spinoff
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Sad news for Samoans: Cheehoo is dead
No good thing ever lasts and this week, the Samoan call was lost to the corporate world forever. Everybody's heard a cheehoo before. Certainly if you've ever been in the vicinity of two or more Samoans, you'll have heard one whether you wanted to or not. It soundtracks every sports event and school gathering, and Dwayne Johnson let out a few slightly cringe ones as Maui in Moana. A cheehoo is undefinable. It's loud (there is genuinely no way to quietly do it), it's high-pitched and it's 100% positive affirmation. Heartier than a 'woohoo' and much browner. While it's not strictly Samoan, it certainly feels like Samoans love doing it the most, and every time I hear it, I know there's a warm-blooded Islander nearby and that's nice. Except now it's dead. Killed by the most ironic of things: an AI company. On Tuesday (Pacific time), Deadline reported the launch of Cheehoo, a 'technology and entertainment company focused on providing creators, artists and IP rightsholders with a new AI-enabled platform to reduce barriers to animated storytelling'. Sounds bleak, I thought, when I read the headline, but get that bag I guess, random Samoans. Except it's not random Samoans behind Cheehoo, it's not even randoms. The founders include a former president of Dreamworks Animation, former Apple scientists, and the chairman of Netflix Film. None of them look like they've cheehoo'd in their life. I read one last name, LoFaso, instinctively as if it was Samoan but turns out it's Italian. In reading through the jargon, it appears the thrust of Cheehoo is to allow streamers, studios and brands to use AI to repurpose their existing IP into, for example, sequels, games and spinoffs. As far as business ideas go, it's a bleak but smart move and will probably become a huge, global 'production' company. Which means the name Cheehoo and its logo – which seems to be a visual representation of someone yelling it – will be everywhere. It also means the word cheehoo will be written and said so. many. times in interviews and casual conversation, and that's how I know it has died. Nobody says cheehoo. In fact, it's extremely weird to just say the word in a normal tone. Somehow – don't ask me how, I'm not a linguist – it is literally easier to pronounce it when yelling than when speaking normally. Now scroll back up to the photo of the founders, who look like walking American accents, and imagine them all just saying cheehoo constantly. The pronunciation will be 'chee – hoo' which I know is exactly how it's spelled but phonetically it's wrong. And the more people just say 'chee – hoo', the more normalised it'll become, until it loses all meaning. And certainly no one writes cheehoo. The spelling has been contentious from the beginning because it really is just a sound. So to see it written, turned into a logo and chucked up on the Hollywood Hills… my usos, we are in hell. If you really want to stress yourself out, think about classic start-up culture and imagine every palagi senior executive at Cheehoo yelling it every time they secure a new client. Think about it becoming a team bonding exercise or a daily incantation inside a large building made of steel and glass. Think about multi-millionaires wearing it on their little t-shirts. I thought cheehoo was safe from full cultural appropriation (full cultural appropriation is when phrases and practices are adopted by others and taken all the way to the top of the capitalist ladder). But nothing remotely cultural is safe from the culture vultures of tech and Hollywood. And now, after decades of mostly being left alone in that regard, the Islands have shot all the way to the top, with a behemoth AI machine. Yay? Michael LoFaso has a little quirky personal quiz on his own company's page. It includes his favourite foods, holiday destinations and such. And his favourite recent purchase? A pair of Hoka running shoes. Figures. Cheehoo the company won't swallow cheehoo the sentiment immediately, but the descent has begun. And one day, probably soon, you'll go to the movies to watch a fun new animated film with your kids, and as the production logos pre-roll begins, you'll see the logo appear and hear the distinctive and disembodied yell of 'cheeeeehoooo' over the top, and that's when you'll know it's truly died. RIP cheehoo. May you still be remembered at weddings and barbecues.
