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Box Office: With strong Thursday night previews, Dog Man aims for a USD 30 million plus domestic start
Universal's Dog Man is on track for a strong USD 30 million debut after surpassing expectations with $1.4 million in Thursday previews, setting the stage for one of 2025's biggest animated hits.
Universal’s animated superhero comedy Dog Man, a spin-off of the Captain Underpants franchise, is looking at a promising U.S./Canada opening despite minimal marketing and no major trailers.
The film, based on Dav Pilkey’s popular children’s graphic novel series, grossed $1.4 million in Thursday night previews, surpassing the Thursday preview earnings of other successful animated films like Trolls ($900K) and The Boss Baby 2 (USD 1.3M). It even outperformed its earlier-mentioned predecessor, which made $650K in its Thursday previews.
The strong previews set the stage for a potential $30 million domestic debut, positioning Dog Man as one of the biggest animated hits of the year.
The film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, tells the story of a dog-human hybrid cop who teams up with a mischievous cat to fight evil. The movie’s voice cast features Pete Davidson as the villainous Petey the Cat, Lil Rel Howery as Chief, Isla Fisher as reporter Sarah Hatoff, and Ricky Gervais as Flippy the Fish. Peter Hastings, who worked on the Epic Tales of Captain Underpants series, helms the offering, providing vocal effects for the titular character.
Despite the lack of heavy promotion, Dog Man has generated significant buzz, with early reviews praising the production’s humor and family-friendly charms. Its success highlights the loyalty of the Captain Underpants fanbase and the growing popularity of animated films within the superhero genre.
Meanwhile, the performance of Companion, which also debuted over the weekend, tells a different story. Despite an intriguing premise and a stellar cast featuring Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher, the film is on track for a modest $10 million opening weekend. The horror sci-fi film, directed by Drew Hancock, follows a group of friends on a weekend resort retreat who discover one of them is a companion robot.
Early reviews for the flick were positive, but Companion is struggling at the box office, with its modest performance being attributed to Warner Bros. deciding to cut the marketing budget for the film.
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