Most Westerners would agree that dogs are great companions, and Hollywood seems to have caught on to that vibe. Not only have classics like Lady and the Tramp focused on dogs as main characters but plenty of live-action movies put these four-legged actors in starring roles. Some of these movies raked in big bucks at the box office.
The 2002 Scooby-Doo film was the largest grossing dog movie, at least since the 1970s, and probably ever. Released and distributed by Warner Bros., this family adventure grossed $153,294,164 domestically and $122,356,539 abroad, totalling $275,650,703. Not a bad profit for a movie with an $84 million budget. In its opening weekend alone, it brought in $54,155,312 across 3,447 theaters. That’s an average of nearly $16,000 per theater.
Fox’s Marley and Me came in at a close second with a total gross of $242,717,113. Its relative foreign and home success parallels Scooby-Doo pretty closely, although the 2008 comedy about a lovable dog that wreaks havoc on the family that owns him was not as successful in its opening weekend. About 25 percent of its total gross came in that first weekend, whereas Scooby-Doo managed to take in over 35 percent of its total.
In 1996, Buena Vista put out a live-action version of 101 Dalmatians, another childhood classic. It was first released to 2,794 theaters with an average of just under $12,000 for the opening weekend. Written and produced by John Hughes, this movie had greater foreign success than at home, gaining $184,500,000 internationally, a sum that represents 57.5 percent of its total lifetime gross of $320,689,294.
Twelve years later, Buena Vista had another successful dog movie with Beverly HillsChihuahua, which raked in$149,281,606 worldwide. This one brought in 31 percent of that money in its first weekend, but since it was simultaneously released to 3,215 theaters, the average for each theater is only a little more than $9,000. However, it ranked number one for that weekend, as did the others in this list.
Cats & Dogs(2001) pitted animal lovers against one another in this family comedy and adventure movie that grossed $200,687,492 around the world, bringing in 23 percent of that amount in the first weekend. This one gained steam as it went along, it seems, although it too opened at number one. More than half of its total gross came from foreign audiences.
Two years after their huge blockbuster, Warner Bros. decided to ride the wave and make another Scooby-Doo movie. Unsurprisingly, the sequel, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, did not do quite as well as the first one, but it still managed to come in sixth on the chart for dog movies with the largest total lifetime grosses. It also ranked first in the opening weekend, which saw the film receive 35 percent of its later total.
From Homeward Bound to White Fang, dog movies spark audiences’ imagination, whether real or cartoon. Who wouldn’t want to get inside the head of their furry friend? Interestingly, a hit movie can even increase sales of a certain breed. Although in most cases, a live-action dog is not played by a single animal, fans begin to connect with that character and can be drawn to get one for themselves. On the other hand, sometimes a film simply raises the profile of that breed, so that people who previously didn’t know anything about it become aware of its existence and appeal.
Whatever the case may be, there is no denying that anyone who feels like their pet is more than an animal is likely to enjoy a good dog flick now and again.