Mark Wahlberg’s new film about dogs, Arthur the King, will be available online after its theatrical debut in March.
Arthur the King is an inspiring family adventure based on Swedish athlete Mikael Lindnord’s bestseller, Arthur: The Dog Who Walked Through the Jungle to Find a Home. Wahlberg plays the athlete, renamed Michael Light, in the film, which tells the true story of the profound effect a stray dog had on Lindnord and his adventure racing team on a real-life occasion in 2018.
In Arthur the King, Michael is a highly competitive racer fighting for one last world championship appearance after his stubbornness doomed his chances years earlier. Before letting his dream die, Michael assembles a team of 3 other expert adventure runners (Simi Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman) to bike, climb, traverse rugged terrain, and kayak on a 435-mile hike in the Dominican Republic.
Along the way, the team encounters a stray dog Michael calls “Arthur,” who, despite his fatal injuries, follows the team for many miles. Soon, the team discovers that the stalwarts love their new four-legged dog. A friend shows them that the race far outweighs the glory of winning an adventure racing championship.
As befits a deal between the film’s studio Lionsgate and NBC Universal (via The Hollywood Reporter), Arthur the King will debut in video-on-demand streaming on Peacock TV.
In the meantime, there are other features to watch the movie. Starting Tuesday, King Arthur will be available for $19. 99 in virtual video on online platforms, adding Prime Video, AppleTV and VUDU. The film can also be purchased on the same platforms for $24. 99.
Arthur the King opened in just over 3,000 theaters nationwide through Lionsgate on March 15, but failed to stand out at the box office despite Mark Wahlberg’s star power.
Arthur the King earned $7. 6 million in its opening weekend, the film has grossed $24. 4 million in ticket sales to date. The film also grossed about $4. 2 million in foreign theaters, for a foreign total of $28. 8 million. Deadline reported that Arthur the King had a production budget of $40 million.
Despite the film’s tepid box office result, Arthur the King was well-received by critics on review gathering site Rotten Tomatoes, earning a “fresh” score of 69% on the Tomatometer based on 77 reviews. like Arthur the King, as it had a positive audience score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on over 1000 verified users.
If the premise of Arthur the King sounds familiar, it’s because the real-life event of 2014 is well-documented through sports media, ESPN adds. Photos of the real Arthur, Mikael Lindnord and his family accompany the epilogue of Arthur the King’s end credits.
Incidentally, Arthur played a dog named Ukai in Arthur the King, and the end credits indicated that he had two stunt doubles.