Strays is a 2023 American comedy film directed by Josh Greenbaum and written by Dan Perrault. It follows an abandoned dog (voiced by Will Ferrell) who teams up with several strays (voiced by Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, and Randall Park) to get revenge on his abusive owner (Will Forte). The film also stars Harvey Guillén, Rob Riggle, Brett Gelman, Jamie Demetriou, Josh Gad, and Sofía Vergara.
Strays was theatrically released in the United States by Universal Pictures on August 18, 2023. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $36 million.
Plot[]
Reggie is a naive Border Terrier who lives with his abusive owner Doug, who only keeps him around to spite his ex-girlfriend. When Reggie inadvertently destroys Doug's bong, Doug makes several attempts to ditch Reggie, which Reggie views as a game. Losing track of Doug in the city three hours away, Reggie meets a street-wise dog named Bug who teaches him how to be a stray after he defends him from a Rottweiler and a Dobermann. After a night with Bug and his friends, an Australian Shepherd named Maggie and a therapy Great Dane named Hunter, Reggie finally realizes that Doug does not love him. He decides to get revenge by biting off Doug's penis, and the other strays accompany him for support. However, as Reggie has never been that far from Doug before, they are forced to rely on landmarks he saw, including a "large hamster ball" (a carnival ferris wheel), a "giant cone" (a hill), and "the Devil in the Sky" (a picture of a postman on a billboard).
During the journey, the group bonds as they get into several scuffles, culminating in capture by animal control after a hallucinogenic mushroom-induced high causes them to maul a family of rabbits, which they mistake for plushies. During their captivity, Bug admits that he was in a family of his own but was forced to escape when they tried to euthanize him after he bit the daughter (though he fails to see exactly what he did wrong). In an attempt to escape, the dogs plan to use Hunter's erect penis to hook the kennel keys but are unsuccessful. Then in another attempt to escape, Reggie suggests that every dog defecate on the floor at the same time so when the security guard opens the door, he will slip on the feces and fall down, which enables their escape. Reggie convinces himself that he is to blame for Doug treating him poorly. This causes Bug to urinate on Reggie's bandana in a fit of anger and Reggie leaves the other strays. Making their way back to the city, Bug, Maggie, and Hunter stumble upon the lost girl scout Riley Anderson, and alert a search and rescue worker to her location.
Reggie returns to Doug's house, and after reminiscing about all the times Doug mistreated him, he finally sees the reality. However, an enraged Doug prevents Reggie from leaving and attempts to kill him while making explicit that he never even once cared about Reggie. In the nick of time, the other strays, alongside Riley and an army of animals, break in. With their help, Reggie successfully bites Doug's penis off. Hunter also defecates in Doug's mouth, and during the altercation, Doug's house and pickup truck are burned down by an electrical pole that falls and starts a fire. As the crowd gathers to see a wounded Doug collapse, the strays leave the area.
Afterwards, Hunter returns to being a therapy dog and starts a relationship with Maggie, the latter begins training as a police dog, Riley adopts Bug, and Reggie remains a stray and chooses to guide new strays, though still often spends time with the other dogs.
Cast[]
- Will Forte as Doug, a selfish deadbeat man and Reggie's former owner
- Brett Gelman as Willy, an animal control officer
- Dan Perrault as Dr. Hagen, a doctor seen in the mid-credits scene
- Dennis Quaid as a birdwatcher
- Mikayla Rousseau as Riley Anderson, a lost Girl Scout in the forest
- Jade Fernandez as Ashley, Doug's ex-girlfriend
Voices[]
- Will Ferrell as Reggie, a Border Terrier[1]
- Jamie Foxx as Bug, a Boston Terrier[1]
- Isla Fisher as Maggie, an Australian Shepherd[2]
- Randall Park as Hunter, a Great Dane therapy dog wearing an Elizabethan collar[3]
- Rob Riggle as Rolf, a rude German Shepherd police dog[4]
- Josh Gad as Gus, a narrative Labrador Retriever[4]
- Sofía Vergara as Dolores, a couch[4]
- Jamie Demetriou as Chester, a Bulldog[4]
- Greta Lee as Bella, a Pomeranian
- Jimmy Tatro as Finn, a Rottweiler
- Harvey Guillén as Shitstain, a Chihuahua[4]
- Jack De Sanz as Munchkin, a Bloodhound
- Phil Morris as Bubsy
- David Herman as an underbite pound dog
Production[]
In August 2019, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller signed a first-look deal with Universal Pictures.[5] In May 2021, Universal acquired the rights to Strays, an adult comedy film about dogs written by Dan Perrault, with Lord and Miller attached to produce alongside Erik Feig and Louis Leterrier. The film is a co-production between Picturestart and Rabbit Hole Productions.[6] Filming began in September 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.[7][8][9] Production concluded by December 2021.[1]
Release[]
Strays was theatrically released in the United States on August 18, 2023, after being delayed from its original June 9, 2023 date.[10][11][12] It was released on digital platforms on September 5, 2023, followed by DVD and Blu-ray releases on October 10, 2023.[13]
Reception[]
Box office[]
Template:As of, Strays has grossed $24 million in the United States and Canada, and $12 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $36 million.[10][14]
In the United States and Canada, Strays was released alongside Blue Beetle, and was initially projected to gross $15–17 million from 3,223 theaters in its opening weekend.[15] After making $3.4 million on its first day (including $1.1 million from Thursday night previews), weekend estimates were lowered to $8.5 million. It went on to debut to $8.3 million, finishing in fourth.[16][17] The film made $4.9 million in its second weekend (a drop of 40%), finishing in sixth.[18]
Critical response[]
Template:RT prose Template:Metacritic film prose Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[16]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kit, Borys (December 7, 2021). "Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Will Forte Starring in Universal Comedy Strays (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ Kit, Borys (March 15, 2022). "Isla Fisher Joins Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx in Strays (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ Kit, Borys (March 4, 2022). "Randall Park Joins Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx in Universal Comedy Strays (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 O'Rourke, Ryan (2023-02-08). "First 'Strays' Trailer: Will Ferrell Is an Abandoned Pup Ready to Bite Back". (en) Collider.
- ↑ Galuppo, Mia (August 2, 2019). "Phil Lord, Chris Miller Set First-Look Deal With Universal". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ↑ Donnelly, Matt (May 27, 2021). "Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Picturestart Set Live-Action Comedy Strays at Universal (Exclusive)". Variety.
- ↑ "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – Strays". Variety Insight.
- ↑ Seiler, Zoe (September 21, 2021). "Production for feature film will take place in Kirkwood Sept. 20-25". Decaturish.
- ↑ Ho, Rodney (September 15, 2021). "What's filming in Georgia in September?". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedBOM - ↑ Mendelson, Scott (2023-05-08). "Universal Moves 'Strays' to August as 'Please Don't Destroy' Comedy Pivots to Peacock". (en-US) TheWrap.
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (February 15, 2022). "Strays: Universal Dates Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx & Will Forte Comedy For Summer 2023". Deadline Hollywood.
- ↑ "Strays Digital Release Date Confirmed". When To Stream (August 29, 2023).
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedNUM - ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (August 16, 2023). "'Blue Beetle' Aims to End 'Barbie's' Box Office Reign With $30 Million Debut". (en-US) Deadline Hollywood.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 20, 2023). "'Blue Beetle' Still Eyes $25M; 'Strays' Goes To The Dogs With $8M+ – Saturday Box Office Update". (en-US) Deadline Hollywood.
- ↑ "Box Office: 'Blue Beetle' Stumbles With $25 Million Debut, Ends 'Barbie's' Four-Week Streak". Variety (20 August 2023).
- ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 27, 2023). "'Gran Turismo' & 'Barbie' Bumping Heads With $17M+ Each This Weekend; Doll Leading National Cinema Day Early Admissions – Box Office". Deadline Hollywood.
External links[]
Template:Strays