Dog Man dominated the weekend box office with a $36 million opening, outperforming expectations and securing the top spot.
🐶 Why It Matters: Family-friendly films continue to dominate the box office, proving that PG-rated movies remain a reliable bet for studios. The success of Dog Man also reinforces the financial viability of modestly budgeted animated films.
🎬 What’s Happening: DreamWorks Animation’s Dog Man opened to $36 million domestically, securing the biggest debut of the year so far.
- The film, based on Dav Pilkey’s popular graphic novel series, cost just $40 million to produce, setting it up for a profitable run.
- Audiences responded well, giving it an “A” CinemaScore.
👀 Between the Lines: Dog Man performed well in the U.S. but struggled internationally, pulling in just $4.2 million from 29 markets.
- The only animated movie to have a better January opening remains Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016).
- The voice cast includes Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery, and Isla Fisher.
👻 The Horror Factor: Warner Bros. and New Line’s horror-comedy Companion debuted with a solid $9.5 million, benefiting from strong reviews (94% on Rotten Tomatoes) and positive word of mouth.
📉 Falling Fast: Flight Risk, last weekend’s top film, saw a steep decline, dropping to fifth place with $5.6 million.
💰 Comedy Comeback? Sony’s R-rated comedy One of Them Days, starring Keke Palmer and SZA, continued its impressive run, earning $6 million and bringing its total to $34.5 million.
📊 Weekend Box Office Top 5:
1️⃣ Dog Man – $36M
2️⃣ Companion – $9.5M
3️⃣ Mufasa: The Lion King – $6.1M
4️⃣ One of Them Days – $6M
5️⃣ Flight Risk – $5.6M
🔎 The Big Picture: Family-friendly films dominated 2024, accounting for $2.9 billion in ticket sales. That trend appears to be holding strong in 2025, with studios continuing to invest in animated and PG-rated content. Meanwhile, R-rated comedies like One of Them Days may be signaling a resurgence in a genre that has struggled at the box office in recent years.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
