How To Train Your Dragon was a hit in 2010. But its sequel seems poised to soar to even greater heights.
After a glamorous red carpet world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is looking to bust out of the gates when it opens June 13.
Eric Wold, a senior media analyst for the B. Riley & Co. investment firm, is feeling very bullish that Dragon 2 “should generate significantly greater revenues than the first.”
A big factor is that children, and adults, have come to love the original through the release, DVDs and word-of-mouth. Two Academy Award nominations in 2011 (including best animated film) didn’t hurt. Now that the sequel is coming out, there’s more positive name recognition for the once unknown brand.
Further, popular Cartoon Network show Dragons: Riders of Berk began airing in the fall of 2012, further endearing the franchise to viewers. “This has driven up new interest and buzz,” says Wold.
Another fact: The glut of animated releases has slowed this summer, giving Dragon 2 a nine-week window to own the animated market unopposed at the box office.
“This will drive up additional pent-up demand from children and families looking for something to watch,” says Wold.
The filmmakers are excited about a new story that takes place around Hiccup and his Night Fury dragon, Toothless, both of whom have grown up five screen years since their last adventure. There are new characters, including Eret, son of Eret (voiced by Game of Thrones star Kit Harrington) and Valka (Cate Blanchett) who is Hiccup’s long-lost mother.
Director Dean DeBlois says he recruited Blanchett at the 2011 Oscar program for the sequel.
“I told her that I had written the part for her in How To Train Your Dragon 2. And she smiled, saying that the (original) movie was “a big hit in her household with her three boys,” says DeBlois. “I told her about the character, and I could see it blossoming in her mind.”
Djimon Hounsou, who plays villain Drago Bludvist, says it’s also all about the dragons, both returning and new fierce creatures. “The dragons are an amazing draw. And they are the main characters in this film,” he says.
DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg says he believes the film will live up to the original’s good name — and then some.
“The first one is beloved, but I am confident we have a movie that is a very worthy next chapter,” says Katzenberg.