<P> In December 2015, the film switched from a DreamWorks Pictures release to under the Amblin Entertainment banner as per Amblin Partners' newly enacted branded strategy . The film was released by Universal Pictures on January 27, 2017 . Universal also distributed it overseas, except for countries where Mister Smith Entertainment handled international sales . </P> <P> A Dog's Purpose has grossed $64.3 million in the United States and Canada and $131.9 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $196.2 million, against a production budget of $22 million . </P> <P> In North America was released alongside Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and Gold, and was projected to gross $18--22 million from 3,050 theaters in its opening weekend, slightly lower than initial $27 million tracking had the film debuting to before boycotts against the film were called for . It made $466,000 from Thursday night previews and $5.3 million on its first day . It ended up debuting to $18.2 million, finishing second at the box office behind the second weekend of Universal's own Split . The film dropped 40.6% in its second weekend, grossing $10.8 million and finishing third at the box office . </P> <P> On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 30% based on 121 reviews, and an average rating of 4.7 / 10 . The site's critical consensus reads, "A Dog's Purpose offers an awkward blend of sugary sentiment and canine suffering that tugs at animal - loving audiences' heartstrings with shameless abandon ." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score 43 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale . </P>

Who plays the boy in a dog's purpose