‘How To Train Your Dragon' Earns Composer John Powell His Biggest Hit Album

Forbes

2 days ago

John Powell's How to Train Your Dragon debuts on the Official Soundtrack Albums chart and on the ... More Official Album Downloads chart, earning the composer his new career peak. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 07: John Powell attends Universal Pictures presents the Los Angeles premiere of DreamWorks "How To Train Your Dragon" at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on June 07, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by)
Since being released in mid-June, How to Train Your Dragon has quickly become one of the highest-grossing movies of 2025 globally. The live-action remake of the animated film of the same name, which was originally released back in 2010, ranks among the 10 most successful titles this year, with more than $370 million earned thus far, and it's still just getting started.
The media property is so popular that the music backing the film has also become commercially success in the United Kingdom.
John Powell Returns to the Charts
John Powell scored How to Train Your Dragon – both the live-action reworking and the original – and this week, he earns a new hit on the charts in the U.K. The accompanying music opens at No. 13 on the Official Soundtrack Albums chart and No. 41 on the Official Album Downloads ranking.
How to Train Your Dragon Opens High
This week, How to Train Your Dragon secures the top start on the Official Soundtrack Albums chart. Powell's latest effort outpaces M: Son of the Century by Tom Rowlands, the album connected to Death Stranding 2 by Woodkid, and The Ballad of Wallace Island, which is credited to both Carey Mulligan and her co-star Tom Basden.
Over on the Official Album Downloads chart, competition is much tougher. On that ranking, Powell is up against all musical acts — not just soundtracks — and How to Train Your Dragon doesn't manage to beat new projects from stars like Van Morrison, The Cure, Queens of the Stone Age, and Neil Young, which all launch in higher positions.
John Powell Hits a New Career High
Powell earns just his second hit on the Official Album Downloads chart, and he reaches a new career high as a credited artist. In 2019, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – the soundtrack tied to the animated film's sequel – spent a single frame at No. 51.
On the Official Soundtrack Albums chart, the two-time Oscar nominee scores a milestone tenth appearance, though he misses his all-time peak by just one space. Back in 2007, the music Powell created for The Bourne Ultimatum climbed as high as No. 12 — just one position above where he sits now.