The review embargo for the live-action How to Train Your Dragon lifted earlier this week (you can read a breakdown of those here), and the movie's Rotten Tomatoes score tells a different story from what seemed like relatively mixed verdicts from critics.
As we first reported on ComicBookMovie.com, How to Train Your Dragon currently sits at 80% based on 80 reviews. It's now officially "Certified Fresh," suggesting even the reviewers who were left underwhelmed still deemed it "Fresh" on the review aggregator.
Despite plenty of complaints about it essentially being a shot-for-shot remake—The Wrap, for example, decried it as a "squandered opportunity"—this score should give How to Train Your Dragon a fighting chance to dethrone Lilo & Stitch at the global box office this weekend.
For comparison's sake, 2010's How to Train Your Dragon from DreamWorks Animation is "Certified Fresh" at 99%. The sequel scored 92%, with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World coming in at 90%.
Universal has just opened an entire land at its Orlando theme park devoted to How to Train Your Dragon, six years after The Hidden World was released. Now, the hope seems to be that this live-action version will spawn a new franchise.
Only time will tell whether the movie can soar to the same heights as the likes of The Lion King and Aladdin, but the animated franchise has grossed over $1.6 billion over the past decade and a half.
You can check out the initial How to Train Your Dragon's Tomatometer reveal below.
On the rugged isle of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations, Hiccup (Mason Thames; The Black Phone) stands apart. The inventive yet overlooked son of Chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, reprising his voice role from the animated franchise), Hiccup defies centuries of tradition when he befriends Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon.
Their unlikely bond reveals the true nature of dragons, challenging the very foundations of Viking society. With the fierce and ambitious Astrid (Nico Parker; The Last of Us) and the village’s quirky blacksmith Gobber (Nick Frost; Shaun of the Dead) by his side, Hiccup confronts a world torn by fear and misunderstanding.
As an ancient threat emerges, endangering both Vikings and dragons, Hiccup’s friendship with Toothless becomes the key to forging a new future. Together, they must navigate the delicate path toward peace, soaring beyond the boundaries of their worlds and redefining what it means to be a hero and a leader.
How to Train Your Dragon also stars Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2), Gabriel Howell (Bodies), Bronwyn James (Wicked), Harry Trevaldwyn (Smothered), Ruth Codd (The Midnight Club), Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Murray McArthur (Game of Thrones).
How to Train Your Dragon is written, produced and directed by Dean DeBlois, and arrives in theaters on June 13.