Dog Man has dominated the box office this weekend with a projected 3-day debut gross of $35 million. This lands the animated DreamWorks film, directed by Peter Hastings, at No. 1 on the chart for the weekend at the domestic box office. An even greater feat, this will give Dog Man the second-biggest opening weekend for a January animated film of all time. Following the release of DreamWorks 2016’s Kung Fu Panda 3, which made a debut of $41.8 million, an achievement for the production company, as this will be their third consecutive No. 1 debut after Kung Fu Panda and The Wild Robot. 

Meanwhile, Drew Hancock’s horror film Companion is trailing far behind in the 3-day debut, with an estimated range of $8 million to $10 million for its grossing weekend. While the number seems small compared to the big debut of Dog Man, this is a considerable amount for this film, as it cost $10 million to make. The prediction is by the end of this weekend, Companion could have earned its budget back.

Though being competitors, Dog Man and Companion are approximately producing at the same level, with Hasting’s film having a budget of $40 million. Even though these films are estimated to perform effectively at the domestic box office, Dog Man has to produce around $100 million in theaters to break even, while Companion needs an estimated amount of $25 million to equalize. Dog Man, starring Pete Davidson and Lil Rel Howery, received 76% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer and a user rating of 87%. Companion, starring Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, was Certified Fresh with a score of 93% and a user rating of 89%. 

All the while, Mufasa: The Lion King is staying in the Top 5 at the box office, but with the success of these two films, this could challenge that. Furthermore, with big releases like Paddington in Peru hitting theaters on February 14th, it could knock all 2024 holdovers out of the Top 5, making room for more 2025 titles.