Feature filmmaker Peter Sollett, who’s gained acclaim for his Raising Victor Vargas, is coming aboard bicoastal Moxie Pictures for exclusive representation as a spot director….Good Films, New York, has signed director Paul Riccio. He had been with Czar Films, New York….Production house veteran Bob Ramos has been named VP/executive producer of Rhinoceros Editorial, New York. Ramos most recently served as exec producer at production house SFI, Long Island City, N.Y. He is best known for his long tenure at the since closed OneSuch Films, where he was president/co-founder….Director/designer Michel Suissa and his New York company Parallax One have linked with Washington Square Films, New York. As part of the strategic alliance, Washington Square will exclusively rep Suissa as a director, and also provide support for design and image-driven projects taken on by Parallax One….Joshua Touber recently resigned from his position as Santa Monica-based COO of Ascent Media Creative Services. He intends to focus his attention on expanding Virtuosity, a Los Angeles-based company that he co-founded with Ascent Media Creative Services chairman Larry Chernoff in the mid-1990s. Virtuosity provides virtual assistants like Wildfire, a speech-activated tool that performs the basic functions of a personal assistant or secretary. Touber also reported that he is in the early stages of launching a company that will focus on consulting and on R&D projects….Los Angeles-based Colibri Films has signed director Andy Fogwill, who’s best known for his work in the Hispanic market….Director Daniel Gruener, who had been working through Mia Films’ Mexico City office, has signed with Mia Films, Miami Beach, for U.S. spot representation….Andy McKenna has joined digital visual effects studio Radium, Santa Monica and San Francisco, as senior compositor. He comes over from GMD, Sydney, where he was a visual effects designer/compositor. While there, he worked on such films as Rabbit Proof Fence, The Quiet American and The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring….Colorist Scott Klein has joined R!OT Santa Monica….The One Club has named Mini USA and Nike as advertisers of the year. Special One Show Pencils will be presented to Mini USA at The One Show and to Nike at The One Show Interactive Awards….
“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