This weekend's premiere of A Dog's Purposehas been canceled, after videos of handlers forcing a frightened German Shepherd into choppy water on set sparked furious outcry.

The video, posted earlier this week on TMZ, shows an upset German Shepherd being forced by his handler into turbulent water for a scene, as voices are heard in the background telling the man to "just throw him in."

The video, which has invited a stream of angry reactions from the public, also led PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to call for a boycott of the movie, which is set for a wider U.S. release a week from now.

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In a statement, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment said they were investigating the incident, and as such, Universal decided it was "in the best interest" of the film to cancel the premiere and press activity scheduled for the weekend.

The two companies continued to maintain that the film "celebrates the relationship between humans and animals."

Meanwhile, the IMDB listing for A Dog's Purposehas already plunged to a 1-star rating ahead of the movie's release.

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