Tom Atkin, founding executive director of the Visual Effects Society (VES), has decided to step down at the end of his current contract, which expires on July 31, 2004. Atkin founded VES in ’93 and helped guide its growth to some 900 global members, nine festivals worldwide and an annual awards show….Director Kieran Walsh, formerly of bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures, is coming aboard bicoastal Anonymous Content….Bicoastal Headquarters has signed director Maggie Zackheim, formerly of bicoastal HKM Productions….Composer Don Davis, whose music filmography includes The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and the upcoming The Matrix Revolutions, has signed with Groove Addicts, Los Angeles, for commercial representation. He has already wrapped his first ad assignment under the Groove Addicts banner, a three-spot Honda package directed by Rocky Morton of bicoastal/international Morton Jankel Zander for Rubin Postaer and Associates, Santa Monica. Groove Addicts has also signed composer Rob Dougan, creator of additional music on The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded, for commercials….RubberBand Music, a shop that crosses over recording artists, rock bands, DJs and film and TV composers into alternative media, has been launched in Los Angeles and has partnered with longstanding music/sound design house Primal Scream, Santa Monica, for spot music. Primal Scream will operate within the RubberBand group as the selected music company for RubberBand Commercials. The new relationship has already yielded two just-wrapped jobs: a Ford spot directed by Eric Saarinen of Santa Monica-based Plum Productions, and an SBC Yahoo! campaign helmed by feature filmmaker Robert Altman….Director Stefan Ruzowitzky has inked a deal with Neue Sentimental Film, Frankfurt, for representation in Germany….Flame artist Crawford Reilly, who spent the last eight years in London working for such shops as Glassworks, VTR and Rushes, has joined Vendetta Post, Santa Monica….Matt Ferrell has come aboard San Francisco-based animation studio Wild Brain as CG animation supervisor….Yessian Music has added composer Andy Grush to its roster. He is a multi-instrumentalist who was previously on staff at bicoastal tomandandy. Yessian maintains bases of operation in Farmington Hills, Mich.; Malibu, Calif.; and New York….
“Dog Man” Fetches $36 Million To Top Weekend Box Office
DreamWorks Animation's "Dog Man" fetched $36 million in ticket sales at the weekend box office, according to studio estimates Sunday, making it the biggest debut yet in 2025.
It was a big opening for the Universal Pictures release adapted from the popular graphic novel series by author Dav Pilkey. The big-screen launch for the cartoon canine was produced for a modest $40 million, meaning it will easily coast through a profitable run. Audiences gave it an "A" CinemaScore.
Only one animated film before has had a better January launch: 2016's "Kung Fu Panda 3." "Dog Man," though, was soft overseas, collecting $4.2 million from 29 international markets. The voice cast of the Peter Hastings-directed movie is led by Pete Davidson, Lil Rel Howery and Isla Fisher.
Family movies last year buoyed the box office, with PG-rated films accounting for $2.9 billion, or 33% of all ticket revenue, according to data firm Comscore. So far, they're lifting 2025, too. The Walt Disney Co.'s December release "Mufasa: The Lion King" topped the weekend box office three times in January. In its seventh week of release, "Mufasa" held in third place with another $6.1 million, bringing its global tally to $653 million.
"The PG animation family film wave that was so prevalent in '24 continues in '25," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.
The horror comedy "Companion," from Warner Bros. and New Line, also opened well, with $9.5 million in 3,285 locations. Drew Hancock's sci-fi tinged film set in the near future is about a group of friends on a weekend lakeside getaway.
"Companion," starring Sophie Thatcher ( "Heretic" ), was lightly marketed and made for just $10 million. It will depend on glowing reviews (94% fresh on Rotten... Read More