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Tribune News Service

Surrounded by virtual cliffs and a cascading waterfall, dragon riders on Roblox’s massive online gaming platform immerse themselves in a memorable scene from the new How to Train Your Dragon movie, a remake of the 2010 animated box-office hit of the same name.
In the sequence, the young Viking Hiccup reaches out his hand to touch Toothless, the black, green-eyed dragon he once feared.
After players feed Toothless enough digital fish, their avatars reach out to pet the dragon, mimicking the scene from the movie. Then they hop on and fly on the dragon to an island where they can watch the trailer.
For 21-year-old Annabelle Barone, training a virtual dragon is an experience she will remember.


“It just makes me want to see [the new movie] even more,” says Barone, who plans to see the film with friends.
Roblox, an online platform where people can play and create their own virtual experiences, is just one way film studios such as Universal Pictures, Lionsgate and Warner Bros are reaching young people before their movies hit cinemas.
By creating immersive experiences and selling movie tickets bundled with exclusive merchandise, studios are tapping into places where teens and young adults hang out online.
Film studios and cinemas have faced hurdles in recent years, including the Hollywood strikes, the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Added to that is the growing amount of consumers’ attention taken up by TikTok, YouTube and video games, including from Roblox.
The increasing amount of videos posted online and other entertainment options means it is tougher than ever to grab people’s attention.
And yet, Gen Z is driving momentum in the box office and has been a “critical audience for moviegoing in the past three years”, according to a report from market research company National Research Group.
Roughly 37 per cent of Gen Z have seen more than six movies at the cinema during the past year, compared with 29 per cent in 2023, a February survey of more than 3,200 Americans showed. The group defines Gen Z as people between the ages of 12 and 27.
Gaming is the “new centre of youth culture”, offering studios a way to immerse fans in films before they are released in the cinema, says Todd Lichten, head of entertainment partnerships at Roblox.
On average, Roblox users spend 2.5 hours on the platform a day. Popular among children and teens, Roblox has 97.8 million users who visit it daily.
“They’re not just looking to create this passive experience that they can re-create in other platforms,” Lichten says. “They’re looking to bring our players together in a way that’s going to be authentic to the [intellectual property], but also rally them around something that has a real community goal to it.”
Sawhorse Productions, a creative agency and production company in Los Angeles, has created games for How to Train Your Dragon, Wicked, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and others in Roblox.

It also worked on Sinners: Survive the Night, a game within Fortnite, another massive online gaming platform, that is based on the hit horror movie.
Nic Hill, co-founder and chief innovation officer at Sawhorse Productions, says developers design games in ways that keep users coming back. In the How to Train Your Dragon Roblox game, new challenges, dragons and virtual items including Viking hats pop up before the movie’s release.
“You get that longer engagement and reasons to keep visiting and engaging further than just playing it once,” he says.
Film studios are also turning to TikTok for marketing purposes.
Ahead of the release of John Wick spin-off Ballerina, Lionsgate teamed up with the social media platform to sell tickets to the film on TikTok Shop.
Lionsgate bundled movie tickets with posters and Continental coins – a fictional currency from the movie – promoting sales by live streaming a Ballerina premiere event on the social media app.
“TikTok is home to a dynamic community of film-goers and film enthusiasts who discover and engage with new titles and cultural moments,” Reia Davidson, vertical director of media and entertainment at TikTok, said in a statement.
TikTok users are 44 per cent more likely to go to cinemas than non-users, making it another valuable place for film studios to create buzz around a film, the social media platform said in 2024.
It is not just new releases that film studios are trying to promote across games and social media.

Lionsgate worked with Roblox to sell virtual movie merchandise for one of its biggest franchises, Twilight. Roblox users can buy a bundle that includes a code to download the 2008 Twilight movie, a digital movie T-shirt and another item, such as a virtual amulet.
Jen Brown, Lionsgate’s executive vice-president and head of global products and experiences, says young fans want to engage with movies in different ways. Games and social media are where they socialise.
“As we think about how we want to extend our content into the world, it’s really important that we’re part of that community-building process, and we’re letting fans have fun with it,” she says.


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Why Hollywood is turning to Roblox and other gaming platforms to tempt Gen Z into cinemas

A still from Roblox’s How to Train Your Dragon video game. Hollywood studios are turning to online gaming platforms to engage with teenagers and young adults. Photo: Roblox

The How to Train Your Dragon Roblox game mimics the scene in the movie where Hiccup reaches out his hand to touch Toothless. Photo: Roblox

How to Train Your Dragon is one of many titles on Roblox, which has more than 97 million visitors daily. Photo: Roblox

Twilight is another movie franchise that is using Roblox to sell merchandise. 

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Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Edwards at the  film’s premiere in New York on June 23, 2025. The British filmmaker says he was never going to turn down Steven Spielberg’s offer to direct the latest film in his hit franchise. Photo: Invision/AP 

Scarlett Johansson in a still from Jurassic World Rebirth. Photo: Universal Pictures

A Mosasaur in a still from Jurassic World Rebirth. Photo: Universal Pictures

Scarlett Johansson (left) and Jonathan Bailey in a still from Jurassic World Rebirth. Photo: Universal Pictures

A still from Jurassic World Rebirth. Photo: Universal Pictures

Edwards on the set of Jurassic World Rebirth. Photo: Universal Pictures

(From left) Bechir Sylvain, Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson in a still from Jurassic World Rebirth. Photo: Universal Pictures

A T-Rex in a still from Jurassic World Rebirth. Photo: Universal Pictures

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A Tabubu by Hunter Chao. Photo: Hunter Chao

One of Chao’s Tabubus. Photo: Hunter Chao

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Lifestyle

Entertainment

Online game adaptations of films like How to Train Your Dragon and Twilight are being used by film studios to engage a ‘critical audience’


Online game adaptations of films like How to Train Your Dragon and Twilight are being used by film studios to engage a ‘critical audience’.


Why Hollywood is turning to Roblox and other gaming platforms to tempt Gen Z into cinemas

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Online game adaptations of films like How to Train Your Dragon and Twilight are being used by film studios to engage a ‘critical audience’

Online game adaptations of films like How to Train Your Dragon and Twilight are being used by film studios to engage a ‘critical audience’