Dog Man Growslams Box Office: Record-Breaking Animated Film, Companion Packs a Thrill

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Over the weekend of January 31st to February 2nd, the movie “Dog Man” made a significant noise at the domestic box office, taking the top spot on the chart with an impressive $35 million earnings. This strong performance continues to be a triumph for the family-oriented market, adding up to a global start of $40.2 million – approximately the same amount DreamWorks Animation and Universal spent on producing this “Captain Underpants” spinoff.

In North America, the latest animated movie has had the second-largest opening in January, surpassed only by DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 3” from 2016 ($41.28 million) when accounting for inflation.

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The new animated film in North America has achieved the second-highest January debut, with earnings slightly lower than those of DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 3” from 2016 ($41.28 million), when considering inflation.

The film, titled “Two in One Body,” featuring a man and a police officer who find themselves inexplicably sharing one body after an unexpected mishap, marks the first children’s movie to debut since “Mufasa: The Lion King” at Christmas, “Moana 2” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” around Thanksgiving. Remarkably, all three movies are still in the top 10 list, an impressive feat. Universal’s PG-rated film “Wicked” has also played a significant role in this family entertainment surge.

In the movie, Dog Man, a police dog and his human partner are joined together after an accident on duty. An unconventional operation results in their fusion, giving birth to Dog Man. This unique canine-human hybrid vows to protect and serve, as well as perform basic commands like fetch, sit, and roll over. The film has received widespread acclaim from both critics and viewers, earning it an impressive A rating on CinemaScore.

The film titled “Dog Man,” directed by Peter Hastings and featuring his voice as the hybrid Dog Man character, boasts an impressive cast including Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, Isla Fisher, Poppy Liu, Stephen Root, and Billy Boyd. Notably shorter than many modern films, this family-friendly production clocks in at a brisk 1 hour and 29 minutes.

Following in the style of Dav Pilkey’s graphic novel series, Dog Man communicates not through speech but rather barks and various expressions, as crafted by Hastings. To date, this graphic series has sold over 60 million copies, with its latest installment claiming the title of the best-selling children’s book of the previous year.

Studio duos New Line and Warner Bros. saw success with the sci-fi horror flick “Companion,” where a peaceful weekend retreat at a secluded cabin in the woods takes a terrifying turn. The movie ranked second domestically, earning $9.5 million. Similarly to “Dog Man,” it managed to recoup its modest production cost during its initial release, considering it made an additional $5.5 million overseas, bringing the global debut to $15 million. Notably, the film’s budget, excluding marketing expenses, was approximately $10 million.

Sophie Thatcher, along with actor Jack Quaid (son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan), lead an ensemble cast that includes Lukas Gage, Rupert Friend, and Harvey Guillén in the movie directed by Drew Hancock.

The movie titled “Companion” received a B+ from CinemaScore, which is equivalent to an A considering that horror films typically receive a C grade. This is Hancock’s debut as a screenwriter for features and his first attempt at directing. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s review, the novice director handles the task admirably, crafting a clever, swift-moving horror-thriller that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats while incorporating ample amounts of dark humor.

Both movies have been strategically planned to capitalize on the Valentine’s Day/President’s Day weekend, with the former falling on a Friday this year. (In other words, they’ve arranged their releases to make the most of these holidays.)

Disney’s Mufasa, Sony’s One of them Days and Flight Risk rounded out the top five.

2024 saw a significant increase of 24% in total income from domestic sources compared to the previous year (2023), and an even more remarkable rise of 16% when contrasted with the figures from 2019.

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2025-02-02 21:55