HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025) MOVIE — RELEASE DATE, CAST, TRAILER & SOUNDTRACK

DreamWorks' live-action How to Train Your Dragon (2025) turned the beloved animated classic into a $636 million global hit — director Dean DeBlois returned, Mason Thames and Nico Parker lead the cast, and John Powell's score is back.

Image: Universal Pictures — "How to Train Your Dragon" official trailer still

How to Train Your Dragon (2025) Movie Details

Film: How to Train Your Dragon (2025), a live-action remake of DreamWorks Animation's 2010 animated film, loosely based on Cressida Cowell's 2003 novel

Director: Dean DeBlois (wrote, directed and produced; co-wrote and directed the animated trilogy)

Based on: Cressida Cowell's 2003 novel "How to Train Your Dragon"

Release Date: June 13, 2025 (world premiere at CinemaCon, April 2, 2025; previously set for March 14, 2025, delayed by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike)

Runtime: 125 minutes

Budget: $150 million

Box Office: $636.6 million worldwide — the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2025

Music: John Powell (score, released through Back Lot Music day-and-date with the film, June 13, 2025; single "Test Driving Toothless"; real bagpipes arranged and played by Scottish musician Lorne MacDougall; Grammy nomination: Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, February 1, 2026)

Production: Marc Platt Productions (Marc Platt and Adam Siegel); filmed January 15 – May 16, 2024 in Belfast, Northern Ireland; cinematography by Bill Pope; VFX by Framestore

Distributor: Universal Pictures

Streaming: streaming debut on Peacock, then exclusive to Netflix; in the VOD top 10 for 120+ days (per Collider, Oct 2026)

DreamWorks Animation's first live-action film since 2004.

At the box office, the film opened with $83.7 million domestic in its opening weekend, a franchise record. Per Rotten Tomatoes, critics gave it 77% and audiences gave it 97%. It is the highest-grossing film of Gerard Butler's career.

Cast

• Mason Thames as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
• Nico Parker as Astrid Hofferson
• Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast (reprising his voice role from the animated films)
• Nick Frost as Gobber the Belch
• Gabriel Howell as Snotlout Jorgenson
• Julian Dennison as Fishlegs Ingerman
• Bronwyn James as Ruffnut Thorston
• Harry Trevaldwyn as Tuffnut Thorston
• Peter Serafinowicz as Spitelout Jorgenson
• Ruth Codd as Phlegma the Fierce

On the Isle of Berk, Viking outcast Hiccup befriends an injured Night Fury dragon he names Toothless, challenging his village's generations-old war with dragons.

Soundtrack

John Powell scored the original trilogy and returned for the remake. The score was released through Back Lot Music day-and-date with the film on June 13, 2025, preceded by the single "Test Driving Toothless". Powell added real bagpipes, arranged and played by Lorne MacDougall. The score earned a Grammy nomination for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media on February 1, 2026.

Sequel — How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2027)

The sequel, How to Train Your Dragon 2, a live-action remake of the 2014 animated film, was announced on April 2, 2025 at CinemaCon and is scheduled for release on June 11, 2027. Dean DeBlois returns to write and direct, and John Powell returns to score. Filming began on January 26, 2026 at Sky Studios Elstree, London. Gerard Butler returns as Stoick, Cate Blanchett returns as Valka, and Mason Thames returns as Hiccup. Phil Dunster joins as Eret, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson is cast as the villain Drago Bludvist.

Watch the Official Trailer

Watch the official trailer for How to Train Your Dragon (2025) from Universal Pictures below.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was How to Train Your Dragon (2025) released?
It premiered at CinemaCon on April 2, 2025 and was released in cinemas on June 13, 2025.

Who plays Hiccup and Astrid?
Mason Thames plays Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Nico Parker plays Astrid Hofferson.

Who composed the score?
John Powell composed the score, returning from the original animated trilogy.

When is the sequel out?
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is scheduled for release on June 11, 2027.

For more big-screen animation news, read about the Zootopia 2 movie, the Toy Story 5 movie, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and the Shrek 5 movie.