Can Will Ferrell's Strays Give R-Rated Comedy A Win At The Box Office?

One of the genres that has struggled most in the post-pandemic landscape theatrically is comedy. Divorced of movies connected to major franchises, straight-up comedy has had a tough go outside of streaming in recent years, with only romcoms like "The Lost City" and "Ticket to Paradise" truly breaking out as unqualified success stories. Be that as it may, Universal Pictures is entering the late summer fold with an R-rated comedy in the form of "Strays," which features an A-list cast as talking dogs. Will the gimmick work? It just might.

Box Office Pro currently has the film taking in between $15 and $25 million on its opening weekend next week. That would put it in a tight race with Warner Bros. and DC's "Blue Beetle," which is eyeing a $13 to $18 million start. It is pretty damn interesting that we're at a place where an R-rated comedy, in which Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx voice foul-mouthed dogs, is in a position to top a big-budget superhero movie at the box office. But such a result would be both a win for comedy and a major commentary on the status of superhero films as the unquestioned dominant force in pop culture. That time may be definitively behind us come 2024.

The big question here is what Universal spent making the movie. A cast like this doesn't come cheap, and there are the visual effects needed to make the dogs actually talk. But if they kept it under $50 million, a $25 million domestic start would be promising. If the budget is closer to $70 million, or dare I say even more, the movie's prospects become grim. As always, this is a game of relativity.

The film is directed by Josh Greenbaum ("Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar"). It focuses on Reggie (Ferrell), a Border Terrier who is abandoned by his lowlife owner. Reggie is certain that his beloved owner would never leave him on purpose, but once Reggie meets a Boston Terrier named Bug (Foxx), a stray who loves his freedom, Reggie realizes he was in a toxic relationship. The cast also includes the likes of Will Forte, Isla Fisher, Randall Park, Josh Gad, Harvey Guillén, Brett Gelman, Rob Riggle, Jamie Demetriou, and Sofia Vergara.

As far as historical comparisons go, I would look at something like 2016's R-rated, animated "Sausage Party." We were, again, looking at a movie in a medium historically associated with children's movies, but it was made explicitly for adults and going for the comedy crowd. Against a $19 million budget, it made $140 million worldwide. "Strays" isn't animated, but the whole talking dog thing is absolutely a kid's movie concept with a raunchy adult spin.

In terms of more recent history, R-rated comedies have taken a beating. Billy Eichner's wildly well-reviewed "Bros" tanked, taking in just $14.7 million worldwide last year. This year, we had both "The Machine" and "About My Father" flop on the same weekend. The only real outlier has been Jennifer Lawrence's "No Hard Feelings," which pulled in $85 million, though it carries a $45 million budget, so it's certainly not an out-and-out win. Taking all of that into account, "Strays" has an uphill battle before it, but it also has the chance to show Hollywood that these movies can still work theatrically if all goes well.

"Strays" arrives in theaters on August 18, 2023.