Top Five Grossing Dog Movies

By Langley Cornwell

Like most animal lovers, I enjoy reading books about pets and watching movies about them, especially if the movie involves real animals. When looking at the top five grossing dog movies, it’s interesting to note that there are a mix of cartoon dogs and real dogs in the films. Here is a list of the highest grossing dog movies as published by Box Office Mojo:

1. Scooby-Doo (released on 6/14/02), has a Lifetime Gross (Theaters) of $153,294,164.
2. Marley & Me (12/25/08), has a Lifetime Gross of $143,153,751.
3. 101 Dalmatians (11/27/96), has a Lifetime Gross of $136,189,294.
4. Beverly Hills Chihuahua (10/3/08), has a Lifetime Gross of $94,514,402.
5. Cats & Dogs (7/4/01), has a Lifetime Gross of $93,385,515.

Scooby-Doo topping the list makes sense; when kids love a movie they beg to go back to see it multiple times and this is definitely a kid’s movie. The characters were first seen in 1969 on the long-running Hanna-Barbera cartoon called Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? The movie is a live-action comedy/adventure. Scooby-Doo himself is computer-generated. The movie was so popular, a sequel called Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed was released two years later and ranks as number 6, grossing $84,216,833. Scooby-Doo received 2.5 stars from the Internet Movie Database.

I loved the Marley & Me book so much that I was hesitant about seeing the movie. I’m glad I did. The film stars Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson and twenty-two different yellow Labradors playing Marley at various stages in his life. The thing that I liked the most about this story is that it’s autobiographical and it illustrates the power of the canine-human bond. This is a must-see for dog lovers. The Marley & Me movie received 3.5 stars from the Internet Movie Database.

101 Dalmatians is a classic for all times. The 1996 Disney animated movie is based on the children’s story by Dodie Smith about two dogs owned by a struggling composer and his wife. Their dogs have puppies that are stolen by one of the best villainesses on film – Cruella De Vil. The evil De Vil also steals every other Dalmatian she can find, 101 in total, so she can make a polka dotted fur coat. I remember being afraid for the dogs as a kid, but we all know this well-made cartoon movie has a happy ending. It received 3 stars from the Internet Movie Database.

Another film from Walt Disney Pictures, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, is a family comedy about a pampered Chihuahua who gets lost in Mexico and has to rely on a pack of mutts to help her find her way home to Beverly Hills. Drew Barrymore voices the fancy Chihuahua whose name is Chloe in the movie. Her real name is Angel. George Lopez voices Papi, a Chihuahua mutt, whose off-screen name is Rusco. This movie has a cast of more than 200 dogs including a variety of mutts including Chinese Cresteds, Dobermans, French Bulldogs, German Shepherds, Labradors, Poodles, Pugs and a St. Bernard. Beverly Hills Chihuahua received 3 stars from the Internet Movie Database.

Cats & Dogs is a talking-animal action comedy. The story is about a secret war that has been raging between cats and dogs, unbeknownst to humans. A tenuous truce was established ages ago and has allowed peace and order to continue in the animal kingdom. There is a professor intent on inventing a vaccine to overcome human allergies to dogs, and all the cats are afraid this will upset the balance of power. Cats & Dogs seamlessly merges elements from live animals with the latest computer imaging, which includes blending the work of filmmakers, animal trainers, puppeteers, animators, designers, compositors, sculptors and visual effects technicians. The movie was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film (Comedy). A sequel called Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore was released in 2010 but did not come close to the success of the first film. The original Cats & Dogs received 2.5 stars from the Internet Movie Database.

Have you seen any of these movies? What’s your favorite animal movie of all time?

Read more articles by Langley Cornwell