Beethoven (franchise) Beethoven (franchise) The Beethoven film series is a series of eight American films, created by John Hughes (credited as Edmond Dantès) and Amy Holden Jones, in which the plot revolves around a family attempting to control the antics of their pet Saint Bernard. The first two films were theatrical releases and all after have been direct to video. The original "Beethoven" hit theaters in April 1992. Its opening grossed $7,587,565. It was the year's 26th largest grossing film in the U.S. at $57,114,049. In "Beethoven", the Newton family finds and adopts a Saint Bernard. The family, with the exception of
Beethoven (film) praised as heroes by the news and George takes a new liking to Beethoven. Ryce also gets a phone call from her crush. The family then goes to sleep, saying good night to Beethoven and all of the dogs they rescued, who are all sleeping in the Newtons' bedroom. The dogs featured in the film were owned and trained by Eleanor Keaton. Beethoven is played by canine actor Chris, age 12. The film received negative reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 33%, based on reviews from 27 critics, with an average score