Dolittle (film)

Dolittle
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Stephen Gaghan
Screenplay by	Stephen Gaghan Dan Gregor Doug Mand
Story by	Thomas Shepherd
Based on	Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Produced by	Joe Roth Jeff Kirschenbaum Susan Downey
Starring	Robert Downey Jr. Antonio Banderas Michael Sheen Jim Broadbent Jessie Buckley Harry Collett Emma Thompson Rami Malek John Cena Kumail Nanjiani Octavia Spencer Tom Holland Craig Robinson Ralph Fiennes Selena Gomez Marion Cotillard
Cinematography	Guillermo Navarro
Edited by	Craig Alpert Chris Lebenzon
Music by	Danny Elfman[1]
Production companies	R/K Films Team Downey Productions Perfect World Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17) (United States)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$175–192.4 million[2][3]
Box office	$251.5 million[4]

Dolittle (also referred to as The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle) is a 2020 American fantasy adventure film directed by Stephen Gaghan from a screenplay by Gaghan, Dan Gregor, and Doug Mand, based on a story by Thomas Shepherd. Dolittle is based on the title character created by Hugh Lofting and is primarily inspired by the author's second Doctor Dolittle book, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922). Robert Downey Jr. stars as the title character, alongside Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Jim Broadbent, Jessie Buckley, Harry Collett, and Kasia Smutniak in live-action roles, with Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, and Marion Cotillard voicing an array of creatures.

It is the third iteration of film adaptions based on the character, after the 1967 musical Doctor Dolittle starring Rex Harrison and the 1998–2009 Dr. Dolittle film series starring Eddie Murphy as the titular character and later Kyla Pratt as his daughter, and the only one not to be distributed by 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios).

The project was announced in March 2017 with Downey set to star, and the rest of the cast joined over the following year. Filming began in March 2018 and lasted through June, taking place around the United Kingdom. The film underwent three weeks of reshoots in the spring of 2019, under the supervision of Jonathan Liebesman and Chris McKay after initial test screenings yielded poor results.

Universal Pictures theatrically released Dolittle in the United States on January 17, 2020. The film received generally negative reviews and grossed $251.5 million worldwide, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2020. It was considered a commercial failure, however, for a reported loss of $50–100 million. It was nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture, winning for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.