DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon surged back to top the weekend box office race in its fourth weekend of release, just barely beating out the much-buzzed-about comic book adaptation Kick-Ass for the crown.
Dragon earned an estimated $20 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic gross up to a total of $158 million. The film has grossed about $177 million overseas, giving it a respectable worldwide total of $335 million.
Kick-Ass, based on the comic book created by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., fell significantly short of industry expectations, earning an estimated $19.7 million in its opening weekend. An opening closer to $30 million was expected for the R-rated film.
Warner Bros.’ remake of Clash of the Titans came in fifth place for the weekend, earning $15.8 million and bringing its domestic take to $133 million. Its international total of $188 million makes for a worldwide tally of about $321 million.
Disney’s Alice in Wonderland also continued to do well, taking in $3.5 million in its seventh weekend of release. The Tim Burton movie has earned a whopping $324 million domestically and $503 million internationally, for a huge $827 million worldwide total.
And James Cameron’s Avatar, due out on DVD April 22, got a boost this weekend and pulled in a little more than $1 million. Its totals now stand at $745 million domestic and $1.9 billion international for a worldwide total of $2.7 billion.
Oscar-nominated animated feature The Secret of Kells earned $37,000 on about 25 screens for a domestic total of $317,000.
