Dog Man fetches the number one spot at weekend box office

Looks like Dog Man's bark is as strong as its bite. The goofy family film about a supercop that's half dog, half man did super well in its opening weekend, nabbing an impressive $36 million. That's the first genuinely good return of the year, completely eclipsing prior openings like Den of Thieves: Pantera ($15 million), Flight Risk ($11 million), and Dog Man's canine cousin Wolf Man ($11 million). Right on cue as we transition out of the January dumping ground.

It also seems like parents have finally gotten sick of the "what did you say 'bout my brother" song from Mufasa: The Lion King. After a solid six weeks sitting comfortably in either the number one or two spot, the Disney prequel has finally ceded its crown and fallen to number three. In its place right behind Dog Man is Companion, Warner Bros' AI girlfriend horror flick. It seems like a decent crowd showed up to the Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid film with their actual girlfriends, because it brought in $9.5 million in its first weekend. That's not a record-breaking haul by any means, but Deadline points out that it's neither a "straight blood-and-guts horror film" nor a campy comedy like M3GAN, both of which would be easier sells. The trade also posits that Warner Bros. underspent a bit on its marketing. Still, the film was shot for under $10 million and is likely not just to make that back but actually turn a profit almost out of the gate. Looks like Thatcher's robot companion won't have to kill anyone at the studio after all.

You can check out the rest of the top 10, courtesy of Box Office Mojo, below:

1. Dog Man, $36,000,000
2. Companion, $9,500,000
3. Mufasa: The Lion King, $6,113,000
4. One of Them Days, $6,000,000
5. Flight Risk, $5,600,000
6. Sonic the Hedgehog 3, $3,225,000
7. Moana 2, $2,836,000
8. A Complete Unknown, $2,164,000
9. The Brutalist, $1,865,690
10. Den of Thieves: Pantera, $1,600,000