‘Dragon’ heats up with $43.3M

Los Angeles ? “How to Train Your Dragon” breathed a bit of box-office fire with a $43.3 million opening weekend and a No. 1 debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Distributed by Paramount, the DreamWorks Animation adventure came in well behind the studio’s last cartoon comedy, “Monsters vs. Aliens,” which opened with $59.3 million over the same weekend last year.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com.

  1. “How to Train Your Dragon,” $43.3 million.

  2. “Alice in Wonderland,” $17.3 million.

  3. “Hot Tub Time Machine,” $13.7 million.

  4. “The Bounty Hunter,” $12.4 million.

  5. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” $10 million.

  6. “She’s Out of My League,” $3.5 million.

  7. “Green Zone,” $3.3 million.

  8. “Shutter Island,” $3.2 million.

  9. “Repo Men,” $3 million.

  10. “Our Family Wedding,” $2.2 million.