In 2010, animated adventure film, How to Train Your Dragon flew into cinemas. The family-friendly film about the friendship between a boy and a dragon, received praise from critics, and proved very popular with audiences too.
The film focused on a 15-year-old Viking named Hiccup, who lives in the village of Berk. The village is regularly attacked by dragons, making them enemies of the locals, however, when Hiccup befriends a young dragon who he later names ‘Toothless’, he works hard to change everyone’s opinions about their supposed enemies.
Due to the success of How to Train Your Dragon the movie soon spawned multiple sequels, as well as a number of spin-offs, and a live-action film. But how many How to Train Your Dragon movies are there?
For all the details and more, read on!
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How many How to Train Your Dragon movies are there?
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
The first entry in the How to Train Your Dragon movie franchise arrived in cinemas in 2010. The animated film, directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, was based on the book of the same name by Cressida Cowell and focused on Hiccup’s initial friendship with Toothless the dragon.
Released to a positive response from critics, and met with approval from audiences, the film was a big hit. Budgeted at $165 million, the picture went on to make almost $495 million at the worldwide box-office.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
Due to the overwhelming popularity of How to Train Your Dragon, a sequel was quickly put into production. The movie opened in cinemas in 2014 under the (less-than imaginative) title of How to Train Your Dragon 2.
Picking up five years after the events of its predecessor, this film followed a now 20-year-old Hiccup. In the story, a power mad villain named Drago Bludvist wishes to conquer the world using a dragon army, and Hiccup and Toothless have to stop him.
As with the first film, How to Train Your Dragon 2 was a critical and commercial hit. The picture was budgeted at $145 million (less than the first film) and went on to take over $621 million (more than the first film).
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
With the first two How to Train Your Dragon movies proving to be box-office gold, a third film went into production. The movie – How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – opened in cinemas in 2019, and continued Hiccup’s story, picking up a year after the events of Part 2.
Once again the movie received praise from critics and it did well at the box-office too. The budget was $129 million, while the final worldwide take was $540 million.
How to Train Your Dragon (2025)
After three animated adventures, which essentially rounded out a satisfying trilogy, the animated How to Train Your Dragon movie series came to a conclusion. However, this wasn’t the end of the journey.
DreamWorks Animation, the studio behind the How to Train Your Dragon films, decided to dip its toes into live-action features and made the choice to start with a remake of How to Train Your Dragon.
Released in 2025, the live-action film follows the events of the first animated feature, reintroduces Hiccup, and details his initial encounter with Toothless.
The How to Train Your Dragon movies in order
To date, there are four entries in the How to Train Your Dragon movie series. The films include:
Animated
- How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
Live-action
- How to Train Your Dragon (2025)
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The How to Train Your Dragon spin-offs
The animated movies are accompanied by a television series, which so far includes two shows:
- DreamWorks Dragons (2012 – 2018)
- DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders (2019 – 2020)
And in addition to the movies and television shows, the animated How to Train Your Dragon franchise has also spawned a collection of animated shorts, including:
- Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010)
- Book of Dragons (2011)
- Gift of the Night Fury (2011)
- Dawn of the Dragon Racers (2014)
- How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019)
- Snoggletog Log (2019)
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Are the How to Train Your Dragon movies the work of the same director?
Notable actors in the animated How to Train Your Dragon movie series include Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, David Tennant, Ashley Jensen, Cate Blanchett, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, Djimon Hounsou, Kit Harington, Robin Atkin Downes, and F. Murray Abraham.
Notable actors in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie include Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, and Ruth Codd.
In terms of directors, the How to Train Your Dragon movies are the work of the following:
- Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders directed 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon
- Dean DeBlois directed How to Train Your Dragon 2 and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
- Dean DeBlois directed 2025′ How to Train Your Dragon
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Which is the best How to Train Your Dragon movie?
According to IMDb, the How to Train Your Dragon movies are rated as follows:
- How to Train Your Dragon (2010) – 8.1/10
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) – 7.8/10
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) – 7.5/10
- How to Train Your Dragon (2025) – Not yet rated
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I hope this information about the How to Train Your Dragon series has proved useful. Should you wish to dive into more movie posts on It’s A Stampede!, please check out the recommended reads below.
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