'Dog's Purpose' tops Fandango's advance ticket sales despite boycott call

Bryan Alexander | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ producers say dogs not mistreated After a video obtained showed a trainer seemingly pushing a struggling dog into a pool of water, Amblin Entertainment defended its production techniques in the filming of 'A Dog’s Purpose.'

A Dog's Purpose is one ruff critter at the box office.

The Lasse Hallstrom-directed dog fest is topping Fandango.com's advance ticket sales heading into the weekend, despite being the subject of an international controversy over a leaked video from its 2015 set.

In what is a slow weekend at the movies, A Dog's Purpose is easily outselling the other newcomer Resident Evil: The Final Chapter as well as M. Night Shyamalan's Split (in its second weekend). A pair of best picture contenders, Hidden Figures and La La Land (following a leading 14 Oscar nominations), are also in the top five.

A Dog's Purpose appears to be emerging from the controversy over an edited video that surfaced on the website TMZ and showed a German Shepherd being mistreated on the set during a water scene. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) led the call for a boycott. The film's producer, Gavin Polone, has vigorously defended the film and the treatment of dogs.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior box office analyst for comScore, says the Fandango advance sales are "impressive." But the overall weekend will be a tough fight with films like Split, which topped the box office last weekend with a $40 million opening.

"A No. 1 debut for Dog's Purpose would be all the more impressive considering the film's rough road," says Dergarabedian. "It will be interesting to see how this plays out. The whole situation has taken on a life of its own. The fate of the film will ultimately be decided by potential moviegoers being drawn by the positive sentiment of the movie itself, and not put off by the underlying controversy."

PETA announced Thursday it will organize Dog's Purpose theater protests on the film's opening night in Los Angeles and more than 25 cities across North America.