“Dog Man” bites off $36 million, barks its way to No. 1 at the weekend box office

Dog Man is barking the 2025 box office back to life.

The animated film — based on a bestselling series from Captain Underpants author Dav Pilkey — has summoned audiences back to theaters, debuting to $36 million domestically, per Comscore. After a sluggish start to the year, Dog Man is a welcome jolt with a family-friendly story that is thus far, serving it quite well. The film picked up another $4.1 million abroad, for an estimated global cume of $40.1 million.

Related: The 20 best kids' movies on Netflix

The cartoon comedy is everything that its title implies: The movie follows a cop who is half dog and half man, thanks to a harebrained (but lifesaving) surgery that leads a man and his faithful companion to be fused into one. Now with a new identity, Dog Man must stop feline supervillain Petey the Cat from cloning himself for the sake of a massive crime spree.

Elsewhere, another debut found its audience, with Companion arriving to $9.5 million domestically. A $5.5 million yield abroad brings the film to $15 million globally, a comfortable start considering the horror pic was made for under $10 million.

Starring Jack Quaid (The Boys, Scream) and Sophie Thatcher (Heretic, Yellowjackets), the film tracks a weekend getaway that swiftly turns violent when a subservient android goes haywire. Ahead of the film's release, Quaid spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the difficulties he faced while embodying the film's antagonist.

"You have to trick yourself into believing that the character you're playing is a good guy, and I'm so happy that I don't have to do that anymore, because he's a real s---head," Quaid shared. "He's a villain that does not know he's the villain. He very much thinks that he's the hero of his story, and I think the best villains have that mentality."

Related: How Companion was almost an entirely different movie: 'What if the robot was the most human character?'

Mufasa: The Lion King is still clinging to its spot in the top five after seven weeks in theaters, snagging third place with an estimated $6 million domestic gross, for a $229.5 domestic cumulative and $653 global.

The prequel to Disney's Lion King hails from director Barry Jenkins, telling the origins of Simba's father, Mufasa, as he goes from an orphaned lion to the venerated king of Pride Rock. His journey is mirrored by that of his adoptive brother as Scar takes a dark path, becoming the villain of the animated 1994 classic. The film features the voices of Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge, HBO's Lanterns) and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Chevalier, Cyrano), with music penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

One of Them Days earned an estimated $6 million, bringing the buddy comedy to a $34.5 million domestic tally. The film sees Keke Palmer and SZA join their comedic forces to exhilarating effect as two friends race against the clock to avoid eviction and save their friendship after one of their boyfriends blows through the crucial funds.

Related: The 15 best Keke Palmer movies and TV shows, ranked

SZA, best known as a Grammy-winning music artist, has already confirmed her desire to keep acting — ideally with Palmer by her side. "I definitely need to build my confidence as an actor," she previously told EW. "But the way that I got to look at myself from another lens that had nothing really to do with my personal expression — but still had everything to do with my personal expression — that was cool."

Of taking on additional movie roles, she added, "As long as Keke can coach me, then I'll consider it."

The Sony Pictures film reunited producer Issa Rae with her Rap Sh!t writer and director, Syreeta Singleton and Lawrence Lamont.

Rounding out the top five is Mel Gibson's plane-set action-thriller, Flight Risk. During its second week in theaters, the film snagged $5.6 million, bringing its domestic total to $20.9 million. Mark Wahlberg, Topher Grace, and Michelle Dockery star in the film about a small plane weathering increasing tension as passengers discover that not everyone on the flight is who they claim to be.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly