Weekend Box Office: DOG MAN Has Bark and Bite at #1

(from left) Petey (Pete Davidson) and Dog Man (Peter Hastings) in DreamWorks Animation’s Dog Man, directed by Peter Hastings.

1. Dog Man
Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation | NEW
$36M Domestic Opening Weekend
$40.59M Global Total

DreamWorks’ animated adaptation of the popular Dog Man book series came in above our highest-end forecast with an estimated $36M from 3,885 screens for a $9,266 Per Screen Average. That is well above the opening salvo of 2017’s Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie ($23.85M), of which this serves as a loose spinoff. It also stands as the second biggest January debut for an animated movie after DreamWorks’ 2016 entry Kung Fu Panda 3 ($41.8M), as well as the 26th DreamWorks Animation title to open at the top of the domestic BO. Dog Man also helped drive overall box office up over 26% from this frame last year when Universal’s Argylle opened to an anemic $17.4M.

Here’s how the 3-Day looked, including $1.36M in Thursday previews and very robust Saturday play…

  • Friday – $10.8M
  • Saturday – $15.18M
  • Sunday – $10.02M

Critics were moderately positive on the animated feature with 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences gave it 86% approval alongside an “A” CinemaScore, which all points to continued family foot traffic throughout February. Adults polled by PostTrak were more lukewarm with 3 1/2 stars and 75% positive, but 58% of the audience was under 25. Ticket buyers skewed slightly male at 52%, with under 12’s being by far the biggest age group at 41%, while parent age (35-44) was the next-highest at 21%. Here’s how demographics played out…

  • Caucasian – 41%
  • Hispanic – 27%
  • African American – 12%
  • Asian – 10%
  • Natam/Other – 10%

Internationally Dog Man opened softer with $4.59M in 29 new markets this weekend including Spain, Mexico, Italy, and the Middle East plus Frame 2 in Poland. Top 3 territories are Spain ($1.1M), Mexico ($699K), and Italy ($616K). Key future markets include UK & Ireland (Feb 7), Brazil (Feb 27), Australia (April 3), France (April 9), Germany (April 10), and Korea (April 30), with the staggered schedule indicating a possible lack of faith in the movie performing in foreign countries despite the books being translated into 47 languages. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie also performed lower overseas ($52.5M vs $73.9M domestic)

2. Companion
Warner Bros. Pictures | NEW
$9.5M Domestic Opening Weekend
$15M Global Total

Warner Bros.’ horror laugher Companion opened on the lower-end of our expectations with $9.5M from 3,285 screens for a $2,892 PSA. Mainstream tracking had it between $8M and $10M. This opening falls in line with recent similarly-budgeted horror titles like Heretic ($10.8m), Abigail ($10.3M), and Barbarian ($10.5M). Premium formats represented 34% of business including Dolby Cinema, PLF/Premium Large Formats, and IMAX, with the latter pulling $1.6M domestic (17% of the weekend take). The Top 3 locations were AMC Burbank, AMC Lincoln Square New York, and AMC Grove Los Angeles.

Here’s how the 3-Day looked, including $1.7M in previews…

  • Friday – $4.025M
  • Saturday – $3.165M
  • Sunday – $2.31M

Here’s how demographics played out…

  • Caucasian – 58%
  • Hispanic – 23%
  • Asian – 8%
  • African-American – 7%
  • Native-American/Other – 4%

CinemaScore was a solid “B+” while PostTrak scores were strong for the genre with 4 out of 5 stars. RT critical (94%) and audience scores (91%) were both excellent, which makes one wonder why the picture didn’t open stronger. Deadline suggests a lack of P&A spend (only $10M on US TV) might be the culprit, with WB trying to get the most bang for their buck out of the under-$10M picture. The movie was also a genre bender with both comedic and sci-fi elements added to the horror mix. Around 43% of audiences came for the horror genre itself, while new scream queen IT girl Sophie Thatcher is responsible for 26% of tickets bought.

Companion also raked in $5.5M across 60 overseas territories for a global opening bow of $15M. Top 3 markets are the UK ($919K), France ($664K), and Mexico ($458K). There are seven more territories for the movie launching in the coming weeks, including Germany (Feb 6), Brazil (Feb 6), and Korea (March 19), but this weekend represents 80% of global theatrical for the movie.

Other Notable Performances

Briarcliff Entertainment’s military action thriller Valiant One got off to a $725K start on 1,275 screens for a $569 PSA. Shot in 2022, the indie pic stars Chase Stokes and Lana Condor.

Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates
Weekend 5 – 2025
Total 3-Day Domestic Estimates:
$82,293,378M | (+26.8% vs 2024)

Title Weekend Estimate % Change Locations Location Change PSA Domestic Total Week Distributor
Dog Man $36,000,000   3,885   $9,266 $36,000,000 1 Universal
Companion $9,500,000   3,285   $2,892 $9,500,000 1 Warner Bros.
Mufasa: The Lion King $6,113,000 -29% 3,180 -240 $1,922 $229,510,210 7 Walt Disney
One of Them Days $6,000,000 -25% 2,306 -369 $2,602 $34,450,000 3 Sony Pictures
Flight Risk $5,600,000 -52% 3,161 n/c $1,772 $20,907,918 2 Lionsgate
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 $3,225,000 -39% 2,665 -432 $1,210 $230,549,000 7 Paramount Pi…
Moana 2 $2,836,000 -32% 2,200 -350 $1,289 $453,894,948 10 Walt Disney
A Complete Unknown $2,164,000 -30% 1,515 -495 $1,428 $66,691,601 6 Searchlight …
The Brutalist $1,865,690 -30% 1,612 494 $1,157 $12,116,310 7 A24
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera $1,600,000 -47% 1,471 -637 $1,088 $34,484,869 4 Lionsgate
Presence $1,340,000 -60% 1,739 -11 $771 $5,883,377 2 Neon
Wicked $1,200,000 -49% 1,318 -813 $910 $470,862,000 11 Universal
Wolf Man $1,150,000 -65% 2,041 -1,313 $563 $19,943,000 3 Universal
Nosferatu $800,000 -60% 983 -990 $814 $94,768,000 6 Focus Features
Brave the Dark $769,646 -66% 1,700 -530 $453 $3,898,508 2 Angel Studios
Valiant One $725,000   1,275   $569 $725,000 1 Briarcliff E…
Babygirl $330,790 -59% 308 -469 $1,074 $27,745,143 6 A24
September 5 $320,000 -57% 398 3 $804 $2,212,000 8 Paramount Pi…
Love Me $204,036   527   $387 $204,036 1 Bleecker Street
Flow $120,200 -32% 161 -60 $747 $3,913,994 11 Janus Films
The Seed of the Sacred Fig $120,000 274% 250 234 $480 $632,834 10 Neon
Anora $63,600 -55% 247 -70 $257 $15,204,597 16 Neon
Conclave $60,000 -34% 247 -63 $243 $32,025,000 15 Focus Features
Homestead $49,841 -76% 150 -350 $332 $20,754,540 7 Angel Studios
Kraven the Hunter $45,000 -1% 237 53 $190 $24,922,000 8 Sony Pictures
Hard Truths $35,975 -80% 53 -489 $679 $766,846 9 Bleecker Street
All We Imagine as Light $22,200 -54% 29 -19 $766 $1,021,448 12 Janus Films
A Real Pain $21,000 -73% 60 -120 $350 $8,295,664 14 Searchlight …
Vermiglio $12,400 -29% 10 -4 $1,240 $152,173 6 Janus Films

(from left) Petey (Pete Davidson) and Dog Man (Peter Hastings) in DreamWorks Animation’s Dog Man, directed by Peter Hastings.