
Family Flick DOG MAN Wins Weekend Box Office
By Movieguide® Contributor
Universal and DreamWorks’ DOG MAN is barking up the right tree, pulling a successful $36M domestic and $40.59M worldwide opening weekend.
“When a police officer and his faithful police dog get injured in the line of duty, a harebrained but life-saving surgery fuses the two of them together – and Dog Man is born,” the official synopsis reads. “As Dog Man learns to embrace his new identity, he must stop feline supervillain Petey the Cat from cloning himself and going on a crime spree.”
Based on the Dog Man books — a series from the Captain Underpants universe — the adaptation came in above Box Office Pro’s “highest end forecast with an estimated $36M from 3,885 screens for a $9,266 Per Screen Average.”
The movie also found a place among the top all-time January debuts, falling just behind 2016 KUNG FU PANDA 3, which made $41.8M. It also is “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,” Box Office Pro noted.
Its success is thanks to its “Very strong moral worldview with Christian, redemptive and moral values.” Movieguide®’s review reads:
DOG MAN is funny and exciting, with many wacky and touching moments. The love of innocent Li’l Petey transforms the lives of both Dog Man and Petey. Petey also learns that being a “do gooder” makes people happier, including himself. Also, Petey displays the satisfaction that comes with being a good father. Thus, DOG MAN has an uplifting moral worldview with strong Christian, redemptive and moral values. The character of Li’l Petey is absolutely adorable and will melt your heart. MOVIEGIUIDE® advises caution for younger children because of cartoon violence.
READ MORE: DOG MAN REVIEW
“DOG MAN [is] enjoying an impressive debut. The PG animation family film wave that was prevalent in 2024 is continuing in 2025,” said senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
READ MORE: DOG MAN EXPECTED TO WIN FAMILIES OVER AT BOX OFFICE THIS WEEKEND