India, June 16 -- The beloved animated tale How to Train Your Dragon has returned to the big screen-this time in live action. The film officially opened in 4,356 theaters across North America on Friday, marking a fresh chapter for the franchise under the direction of Dean DeBlois, who also helmed the original 2010 animated hit. In this new version, actor Mason Thames plays Hiccup, a young Viking who doesn't fit in with the others on the island of Berk. One day, he meets a dragon and realizes the creature is injured and can't fly. Hiccup slowly gains the dragon's trust and gives it the name Toothless. He later builds a tail fin to help it fly again.

Hiccup then finds out that dragons are not dangerous like his people believe. In fact, the...