Set during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, the film follows a dog named Buck as he is stolen from his home in California and sent to the Yukon, where he befriends an old outdoorsman and begins a life-altering adventure.

The Call of the Wild was released in the United States on February 21, 2020, by 20th Century Studios (its first film under the company's new name).

During the late 19th century, Buck, a large, gentle mix of Saint Bernard and Scotch Shepherd, lives contentedly with his master, Judge Miller, in Santa Clara, California.

Once in Alaska, a frontiersman named John Thornton drops his harmonica which Buck retrieves for him, moments before being sold to Perrault and his partner Francoise for their dog sled to deliver mail across the Yukon.

Buck is introduced to the other dogs; Dolly, Pike, Jo, Billie, Dub, Dave, and Sol-leks, including the pack leader, a husky named Spitz.

Hal, a mean-spirited and inexperienced gold prospector, buys the pack and works them to exhaustion carrying a heavy load, along with three people, in weather unsuitable for sledding.

Later, at a saloon, Thornton is attacked by Hal, who reveals he is the only human survivor and the dogs managed to run off, leaving him with nothing.

In the open wilderness, Thornton and Buck bond over their daily activities, primarily fishing and gold panning.

Never wanting the gold from the start, Thornton throws it back into the river except for some "grocery money," and tells Buck he is leaving in the morning, and to come and say good-bye.

In the wilderness, Buck mates and has offspring with the white wolf, becoming the pack leader and fully embracing the call of the wild.

In October 2017, it was announced that 20th Century Fox was developing a new film adaptation of Jack London's 1903 novel The Call of the Wild, set in the Yukon during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush.

[12] In September, Omar Sy and Karen Gillan were added,[13][14] while Bradley Whitford came aboard in October,[15] and Cara Gee joined in November.

The announcement followed Disney's earlier-than-planned releases of Frozen II and Onward on digital, due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the closing of most theatres around the world.

[30][31] In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Brahms: The Boy II and Impractical Jokers: The Movie as well as the wide expansion of The Lodge, and was projected to gross $15–20 million from 3,752 theaters in its opening weekend.

It went on to overperform, debuting to $24.8 million and finishing second, behind holdover Sonic the Hedgehog; however, Deadline Hollywood wrote that "despite the over-indexing of Call of the Wild stateside, it's a hollow victory, given how much the film cost".

The website's critics consensus reads: "It's undermined by distracting and unnecessary CGI, but this heartwarming Call of the Wild remains a classic story, affectionately retold.

[30] Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised Harrison Ford's performance, saying that he "acts with pure soul here (he also narrates the film with his lovely storybook growl); it's a minimalist performance, mostly very reactive, but the saintly gruffness of Ford’s thick-gray-bearded, sad-eyed presence helps to nudge Buck to life as a character.