Clifford The Big Red Dog Gets A CinemaScore, Opening Day Box Office Numbers Revealed

Marvel’s Eternals continues to dominate at the U.S. box office, but last night another beloved character nosed his way into the #2 slot. Paramount’s Clifford the Big Red Dog arrived in theaters and on HBO Max yesterday, hoping to capitalize on the Veterans Day holiday weekend at the U.S. box office. The movie earned $2.3 million on Wednesday screenings and an A CinemaScore. Given that yesterday was a Wednesday and a school day, it’s difficult to find a like-for-like comparison, but at face value, it seems on pace for the $15 million to $17 million range that Paramount had projected.

If Clifford makes that kind of money in theaters and performs reasonably well on Paramount+, it seems likely to get a sequel. Earlier this year, Paw Patrol: The Movie had a $13 million opening weekend and strong Paramount+ numbers, and its sequel was officially greenlit earlier this week.

“We love the neighborhood, we love the area,” Clifford producer Jordan Kerner recently told ComicBook. “I think probably if there is a sequel, there will be a greater exploration [of the neighborhood]. Remember at the beginning of the movie, Clifford’s mom and brothers and sisters were taken away, and we don’t know where they are. I think Emily is going to be 15 at that point, so there’s going to be a whole other layer of her life to start exploring. I think that [in] the neighborhood itself, we can go deeper with all those people…and also remember that half of [Emily Elizabeth’s] family is English. Her mother has an English accent, was raised in England, the uncle was too young when he came over so he has an American accent, and I think that England at some point might also be involved.”

“Four years is a big change, and from 11 years old to15, those are very significant years,” agreed Darby Camp, who played the film’s lead, Emily Elizabeth. “I think that Emily would be different, but kind of the same. And I see myself in Emily a lot. So playing her was fun. I enjoy playing a character like that, and so I think doing another one would be about kind of reinforcing Emily to be more like how I am today.”

In Clifford the Big Red Dog, when middle-schooler Emily Elizabeth meets a magical animal rescuer who gifts her a little, red puppy, she never anticipated waking up to find a giant ten-foot hound in her small New York City apartment. While her single mom is away for business, Emily and her fun but impulsive uncle Casey set out on an adventure that will keep you on the edge-of-your-seat as our heroes take a bite out of the Big Apple. Based on the beloved Scholastic book character, Clifford will teach the world how to love big!

Clifford the Big Red Dog is now available in theaters and on Paramount+.