Two CGI animals tussled for the number one position on the box office charts over the weekend, with the blue one eventually coming out on top.

Sonic the Hedgehog, a videogame adaptation that has admirably overcome bad buzz to become a bonafide smash hit, saw its second weekend dominance threatened by The Call of the Wild, a new adaptation of the classic Jack London novel about a man and his dog.

Sonic ended up earning $26.3 million in its second weekend, just sliding past Wild's opening weekend gross of $24.8 million to take the lead.

Interestingly, The Call of the Wild also faced criticism regarding its central animal character when the trailer was released, just as Sonic The Hedgehog did. Many viewers complained that the CGI dog at the center of The Call of the Wild looked just like that—a CGI dog.

Unlike with Sonic, there were no last-minute redesigns to try and fix Wild's dog, but audiences nevertheless showed up to the movie—even if it couldn't unseat the speedy hedgehog.

Having screen legend Harrison Ford in the lead (human) role no doubt assisted in bringing in the crowds, but we must also factor in how the Jack London adaptation lumped itself in with a recent string of popular canine-centric narratives.

Although it is based on a classic adventure novel set in the 1890s, The Call of the Wild's marketing seemed designed to recall films such as A Dog's Purpose, A Dog's Way Home, and A Dog's Journey. Heck, there was even a little bit of Marley & Me in there.

It highlights how beneficial it can be to recontextualize certain narratives. The association helped attract audiences to The Call of the Wild to the extent that at one point during the weekend, it looked like the film would debut at number one.

It may not have, but the numbers are still healthy, and dogs that tilt their heads will likely continue to have films constructed around them. They're also increasingly likely to be portrayed by humans in motion-capture suits than actual dogs (as was the case in the new Wild), which is good for dogs, but not so great for cinematic verisimilitude.

Further down the charts, a horror sequel nobody in particular was clamoring for, debuted at the number four position. Coming in behind Birds of Prey (whose $7 million take earned it third place), Brahms: The Boy II earned a relatively paltry $5.9 million, slightly more than half the opening take its predecessor generated when it opened in 2016. Horror sequels that lack an imperative narrative have long been a part of Hollywood's creative eco-system, but this example seems particularly egregious.

Parasite's historic success at the Oscars® has seen the film re-enter the box office top ten, and the film earned $3.1 million to grab the number eight spot. It's approaching a $50 million overall gross, a huge achievement for a subtitled movie that will hopefully spur more American audiences to take chances on films not in their native tongue. Which would be great for narrative diversity overall.