‘Dog Man’ fetches top spot in North American box office
UNIVERSAL’S new superhero comedy Dog Man, based on a hugely popular series of graphic novels for kids, bounded to the top of the North American box office this weekend, analysts said on Sunday (Feb 2).
The DreamWorks animated flick about a canine crime fighter took in an estimated US$36 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said.
The Dog Man books – a spinoff from the Captain Underpants series by author Dav Pilkey – have a huge following among young readers. A Captain Underpants film in 2017 grossed US$125 million worldwide on a budget of roughly one-third that amount.
Another new release, sci-fi satire Companion, from Warner Bros and New Line, placed second, at US$9.5 million. Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher star in the story of a weekend getaway that gets weird when a group of friends learn that one guest is a “companion robot”.
The movie’s earnings in a single weekend nearly equalled its US$10 million budget, according to Variety.
Third at the box office, down one spot from last weekend, was Disney animation Mufasa: The Lion King, at US$6.1 million. That pushed its total ticket sales – domestic and international – past US$650 million.
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Sony’s comedy One of Them Days placed fourth, at US$6 million. Keke Palmer and singer SZA star as roommates in Los Angeles scrambling to pay the rent after a boyfriend squanders their money.
The film, under first-time director Lawrence Lamont, has already earned US$34.5 million on a budget of just US$14 million. The Los Angeles Times called it “a treat to be gobbled up”.
And nose-diving to fifth place from last weekend’s top position was Lionsgate action movie Flight Risk, at US$5.6 million. Reviews have been poor for the Mel Gibson-directed film – called “minimally endurable” by the Wall Street Journal.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (US$3.2 million);
- Moana 2 (US$2.8 million);
- A Complete Unknown (US$2.2 million)
- The Brutalist (US$1.9 million); and
- Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (US$1.6 million).
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