Watch out, “Wolf Man” and “Better Man,” because the box office is about to be taken over by “Dog Man.”
Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s new movie has made $1.36 million at the box office in Thursday previews. It’s expected to make between $25 million to $30 million, though some predictions are as high as $40 million due to the demand for family fare.
Set in the kid-friendly world of “Captain Underpants,” “Dog Man” is written and directed by Peter Hastings and follows the adventures of the titular half dog, half police officer who fights crime. While Dog Man himself doesn’t speak, the voice cast is made up of Pete Davidson as Petey the cat, Dog Man’s feline nemesis; Lucas Hopkins as Li’l Petey, Dog Man’s sidekick; Lil Rel Howery as the police chief named Chief; Isla Fisher; Billy Boyd; Ricky Gervais; Stephen Root; Poppy Liu; Laraine Newman; Cheri Oteri; Melissa Villaseñor and more.
The “Dog Man” children’s book series launched in 2016 by “Captain Underpants” author Dav Pilkey and totals 13 books. It’s sold more than 60 million copies worldwide. “Captain Underpants” got its own animated movie in 2017, where it opened to $23.8 million and went on to make $73 million domestically and $125 million globally.
Also opening this weekend is “Companion,” an R-rated sci-fi thriller from Warner Bros. and New Line. It stars Jack Quaid, Sophie Thatcher, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillen, Rupert Friend, Jaboukie Young-White, Matt McCarthy, Marc Menchaca, Woody Fu and more. It’s on track to make $8 million to $10 million domestically and another $5 million internationally off of a $10 million budget.
