A Dog’s Purpose pre-sales strong, despite controversy

A DOG'S PURPOSE seems destined for the Wal-Mart $5 bin, as its premise is so mauldin and schlocky, it's almost like a bad SIMPSONS spoof of these types of films. And there's obviously a dedicated audience for this kind of shit (and who am I to judge, I've seen BIRDEMIC thirty times), so more power to them. However, it seems that the core audience would be animal lovers, and after TMZ released this video of what looks like animal cruelty:

You'd think that leaked video would hurt box-office sales. But you'd be wrong. In fact, according to Fandango, it is topping their advanced ticket sales. Hell, it might even beat out contender RESIDENT EVIL: FINAL CHAPTER and the current reigning champion SPLIT over the weekend. That's impressive. People really do love dogs, don't they? Especially if they die (looking at you MARLEY AND ME and OLD YELLER). 

Meanwhile, Universal cancelled the premiere, and PETA is staging protests upon the film's release.

So what do you Schmoes think? Do you believe star Dennis Quaid and producer Gavin Polone that the footage was unfairly edited out-of-context? And if you were going to see it, did that video change your mind (or did you buy advance tickets anyway)? Either way, sound off below!

Meanwhile, A DOG'S PURPOSE will doggie-paddle to theaters tomorrow, January 27th, 2017.