How to Train Your Dragon breathes fire at box office
The film landed in first place with $35.6 million (£26.2 million) in sales in the US, according to The Numbers.
Projections show that the fantasy adventure film is on its way to making upwards of $200 million (£147 million) globally.
The live-action remake of the 2010 animated film, which The New York Post deemed "nice, but doesn't always soar," had the fourth-biggest opening of the year so far.
The Black Phone's Mason Thames stars as a young Viking boy named Hiccup who ignores the wishes of his father, played by Gerard Butler, and befriends a feared Night Fury dragon named Toothless. The Last of Us's Nico Parker costars as Viking warrior Astrid.
Dakota Johnson's Materialists landed in second place, with earnings of just over $5.1 million (£3.8 million).
The rom-com, which is set in New York City, centres around the love-triangle of its main characters, played by Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal.
The live-action remake Lilo & Stitch moved down a notch from last week to third place.
Falling down a spot further to fourth was Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, with Karate Kid: Legends remaining in fifth spot.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Times
27 minutes ago
- New York Times
The Man Who Made a Brooklyn Cemetery the Place to Be
Do you remember Roy Smeck, guitarist and banjo legend from the 1930s? 'We have him here,' said Richard J. Moylan the other day, in a cluttered office that looked about three weeks from moving-out day. It is a phrase Mr. Moylan — 70, with a robust head of white hair and a pleasantly chatty manner — uses often, or did until recently. Last Friday, he retired from Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where he had worked for the last 53 years, first as a lawn cutter and since 1986 as president, and thus de facto mayor to the grounds' 570,000 permanent residents. Around the office were a half-dozen Roy Smeck signature guitars that Mr. Moylan had collected for the cemetery, along with books, CDs and artwork associated with other people interred there. 'We have Leonard Bernstein,' he said. Also F.A.O. Schwartz (toys), Eberhard Faber (pencils) and Samuel Morse (code). But of the filmmaker Jonas Mekas, who was cremated at the cemetery in 2019, Mr. Moylan lamented, 'I don't think we have him.' (It is a sore spot with Mr. Moylan that so many families choose to scatter their loved ones' remains rather than entomb at least some of them at Green-Wood, where future generations might gather to visit them.) Green-Wood, which sits on 478 rolling, tree-filled acres in a semi-industrial neighborhood that real estate agents call Greenwood Heights, occupies a distinctive place in New York City and in the development of American cemeteries. First opened in 1838, it was in the 19th century the second-most-popular attraction in the state, after Niagara Falls, and inspired the competition to design Central Park and Prospect Park. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.


Washington Post
43 minutes ago
- Washington Post
For Sean 'Diddy' Combs, could a lesser conviction mean a greater public rehabilitation?
For nearly two years, a nearly nonstop parade of allegations and revelations has ravaged and unraveled Sean 'Diddy' Combs' carefully cultivated reputation as an affable celebrity entrepreneur, A-list party host, Grammy-winning artist and music executive, brand ambassador and reality TV star. It culminated in a verdict Wednesday that saw Combs acquitted of the most serious sex trafficking charges, though guilty of two lesser ones. The stratospheric heights of his previous life may be impossible to regain, but the question remains whether a partial conviction could mean a partial public rehabilitation, or if too much damage has been done. 'Combs managed to avoid becoming the next R. Kelly,' said Evan Nierman, CEO and president of crisis public relations firm Red Banyan, referring to the R&B superstar convicted of similar sex trafficking charges as those that Combs beat. Combs, 55, has yet to be sentenced and faces the likelihood of prison time, but he no longer faces the prospect of spending most of the rest of his life behind bars. While the law allows for a prison sentence of up to 10 years, the lawyers in the case said in court filings that guidelines suggest a term that could be as short as 21 months or last more than five years. 'This is a very positive outcome overall for him. And it does give him an opportunity to try to rebuild his life,' Nierman said. 'It won't be the same, but at least he's likely going to be out there in the world and able to move forward.' The case had a broad reach across media that made Combs a punchline as much as a villain. Talk shows, 'Saturday Night Live' and social media posters milked it for jokes about 'freak-offs' and the voluminous amounts of baby oil he had for the sex marathons. 'There are definitely terms which have now become part of the popular lexicon that never existed pre-Diddy trial, including things like 'freak-off,'' Nierman said. 'The images that were painted in the trial and some of the evidence that was introduced is going to stick with him for a long time.' Danny Deraney, who has worked in crisis communications for celebrities as CEO of Deraney Public Relations, agreed. 'The jokes will haunt him forever,' Deraney said. Managing public narratives — something Combs has previously excelled at — will be essential. He could cast himself as a tough survivor who took on the feds and came out ahead, or as a contrite Christian seeking redemption, or both. 'It's a powerful thing for the hip-hop mogul to go public and brag that he beat the rap and that the feds tried to come after him and they failed,' Nierman said. 'I could definitely see him leaning into that.' Nierman said the fight 'now will become part of the Sean Combs mythology.' Combs fell to his knees and prayed in the courtroom after he was acquitted Wednesday of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. The moment by all accounts was spontaneous but could also be read as the start of a revival narrative. 'No matter what you're accused of, it's what you do to redeem yourself on the way back,' Deraney said. 'Is he redeemable? Those are still heavy charges he was guilty of. It's tough to say; people have had these charges hanging over their heads and were able to move on.' Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest and will remain jailed while he awaits sentencing. His long reputational fall began when his former longtime girlfriend and R&B singer Cassie , the criminal trial's key witness, sued him in November 2023, alleging years of sexual and physical abuse. He settled the next day for $20 million, but the lawsuit set off a storm of similar allegations from other women and men. Most of the lawsuits are still pending. The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie, born Casandra Ventura, has. The revelation last year of a major federal sex trafficking investigation on the day of a bicoastal raid of Combs' houses took the allegations to another level of seriousness and public knowledge. The later revelation that feds had seized 1,000 bottles of baby oil and other lubricant entered the popular culture immediately. Fellow celebrities were called out for past Diddy associations — though no others were implicated in the criminal allegations. The May 2024 leak of a video of Combs beating Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway eight years earlier was arguably just as damaging, if not more, than the initial wave of allegations. It brought a rare public apology, in an earnestly presented Instagram video two days later. Nierman called the video, shown at trial, 'something people aren't just going to forget.' Shortly after Combs' apology, New York City Mayor Eric Adams requested he return a key to the city he'd gotten at a ceremony in 2023 . Howard University rescinded an honorary degree it had awarded him and ended a scholarship program in his name. He sold off his stake in Revolt , the media company he'd founded more than a decade earlier. Combs is not about to get the key, or the degree, back. But he could pick up the pieces of his reputation to salvage something from it. Deraney said it may require 'some kind of come-to-Jesus moment where he owns up to it.' 'Really what it's going to come down to is if he goes to prison, will it change him?' Deraney said. 'Has he changed at all during this whole processes? I don't know.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
AI, TikTok and playing cupid...Pete shares a couple of thoughts
This week there are a couple of things I want to write about. The first is AI. Not so long ago Trump was in the Gulf States on an official visit, and to all intents and purposes was very fruitful for America, with many deals being done. After the visit, AI videos of the leaders of the Gulf States started to appear. They were slagging Trump off, but it was AI. To a lot of the general public, these could have appeared totally legitimate, such is the quality. Surely this is very dangerous. There should be more responsible labelling to show the authenticity of content online to avoid confusion and misinformation. Talking of Trump, I hate the way he calls the mainstream media 'another fake news channel or paper' when they don't agree with him. READ MORE: After a busy week, Pete asks himself if it's time to put his feet up I've recently had a video taken down from TikTok, saying it had been removed for 'violating community guidelines'. I've got to tell you about this clip. It was from one of my podcasts. I did a fabulous interview with Mike McCartney (known professionally as Mike McGear). We promoted a short clip from the podcast. I'd asked: 'Your name. McGear, how did you get it?' Mike responded: 'We were looking around ordinary words used in Liverpool, and we came up with gear, which can be clothes or a term of endearment, and that's how we got the name 'Mc', initials of Mike McCartney, plus Gear. When TikTok took it down, we think the moderating tools had picked up on the word 'gear' which has on occasion been used as a slang word for drugs. After challenging it, it was eventually put back up. I got a message this week that made me so happy. 'Hi Peter, just wanted to thank you for my life. 'My mum and dad met on your radio show in the 90s on your date segment, and they subsequently had three kids. 'I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you.' This little note made my job worthwhile, and in fact, we celebrated ten weddings through my evening encounters slot, plus many more found love. Two years ago, when the Pride march was on, a young lady came up and hugged me, and informed me that her mum and dad had also met because of me. The Cilla Black bronze statue in Mathew Street was created by Emma Rodgers and is now one of the big tourist attractions in Liverpool. Some people don't realise that all over her dress are pictures of her life. There is one of me, just above her bottom. After years of people put their arms around the statue to have their photograph taken, many images engraved have now been worn down. Thank goodness, I am still there! READ MORE: Coping with grief and loss is a personal journey, and there is no right or wrong way to grieve READ MORE: As Leanne Campbell leaves the airwaves, I reflect on the changing landscape of local radio