Warner Bros is wagging its tail while heading into the weekend with $2.2 million in preview screenings for the new animated feature D.C. League of Super-Pets. Jared Stern and Sam Levine direct the super-powered pet project, starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Marc Maron, Keanu Reeves, Ben Schwartz, Olivia Wilde, Thomas Middleditch, Jameela Jamil, Jemaine Clement, and Yvette Nicol Brown.
Analysts estimate D.C. League of Super-Pets will earn $25-30M at 4,300 markets, securing the weekend’s top spot at the box office. Sorry, Minions, you’ve had your chance to shine. Please, pass the banana, or the torch, or whatever. While the predicted totals for Super-Pets aren’t astronomical, the film may beat the studio’s previous animated effort, Teen Titans GO! To the Movies. Unlike Teen Titans GO! To the Movies, DC League of Super-Pets is getting a boost from chart-topping social media profiles, thanks to some of the film’s stars. Kevin Hart has 624M+ followers alone, thanks to his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok accounts. Combine that with Johnson, Jamil, and Schwartz, and you’ve got a P.R. juggernaut stronger than Krypto the Superdog.
The League of Super-Pets debuted in 1962 in the pages of Adventure Comics #293. Since that time, characters like Krypto the Superdog, Streaky the Supercat, Beppo the Super Monkey, and Comet the Super Horse have appeared from time to time to lend a helping paw (or hoof) in the ongoing battle against evil. While some of the pets have had their own comic series throughout the years, several have been lost amidst D.C.’s never-ending array of world-changing events, reboots, and edicts to establish a more severe multiverse. However, that hasn’t stopped the publisher from introducing fans to Damian Wayne’s dog Titus, Aquaman’s seahorse Storm, Flexi the Plastic Bird, Clay Critter (R.I.P.), and my favorite, Bat-Cow.
In DC League of Super-Pets, Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime in Metropolis side by side. When Superman and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a rag-tag shelter pack—Ace the hound, P.B. the potbellied pig, Merton the turtle, and Chip the squirrel—to master their newfound powers and help him rescue the superheroes.
DC League of Super-Pets currently stands at 72% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes (with an Audience Score of 84%). While the numbers aren’t staggering, parents are sure to flock to theaters this weekend for an animated adventure featuring super-powered pets. I’m also thinking about checking it out, but I still need to see Nope, so we’ll see how that goes.
Will you be checking out DC League of Super-Pets this weekend? Let us know in the comments section below.