Dolittle (2020)

Dolittle is a 2020 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, and Harry Collett in live-action roles, with Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, 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 Maya, and the only one not to be distributed by 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios).

The project was announced as The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle 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, directed by Jonathan Liebesman and written by Chris McKay, after initial test screenings yielded poor results.

Universal Pictures theatrically released Dolittle in the United States on January 17, 2020. The film was met with negative reviews from film critics and grossed $251 million worldwide, making it a box-office failure for a reported loss of $50–100 million. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was the seventh highest-grossing film of 2020. It was nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture, winning for Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.