OF all the dog species in the world, none have proved quite so marketable as the pug.

The ubiquity of pugs, with their oddly squashed body and flat nose, means that it is virtually impossible to pass through a shop without encountering a puggy bank, pug in a mug, bath pug, or simply a pug-themed backpack, pillow and onesie.

This week, pug fans will find their prayers answered with the release of Mandie Fletcher’s new film: Patrick.

The film stars Beattie Edmondson - daughter of Jennifer Saunders, who also features - as a teacher whose life is transformed when her grandmother bequeaths her a spoilt pug called Patrick.

Tom Bennett, so excellent in 2016 film Love and Friendship, co-stars here as a love interest for Edmondson, whilst the ensemble is made up of The Inbetweeners’ Emily Atack, Gavin and Stacey’s Adrian Scarborough and Deadpool actor Ed Skrein.

Despite heavyweights like Peter Davidson and Bernard Cribbins also finding their way into the cast, this film is, of course, all about the pug. Based only on trailers, this one looks very sweet.

In a busy week for releases, also out are ‘true story’ films Tag and Adrift, by Jeff Tomsic and Baltasar Kormákur respectively. Neither are so remarkable as the tales that inspired them but both have much to offer for the general cinemagoer.

Tag is based on the annual get together of a group of North-West American friends for a month-long game of ‘tag’ - better known in British schoolyards as ‘it’ or ‘tig’.

The real group continued their game over a 28-year period but the film charts the attempt of four of them - Ed Helms, Jake Johnson, Jon Hamm and Hannibal Buress - to catch the only one to have consistently evaded being tagged - Jeremy Renner - in one final game.

Keep your eyes on Renner’s right arm when watching Tag as, midway through production, the Avengers’ star fractured his wrist and elbow. Whilst Renner was forced to wear a cast for the remainder of the shoot, this was removed in post production.

Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin are the stars of Adrift, which is loosely based on the story of two sailors who embarked on a journey from Tahiti to San Diego in 1983, only to sail directly into Hurricane Raymond.

It’s a story you’ve seen before but boasts excellent performances from its central pairing.

-Toby Symonds