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 This year, studios and movie
theater owners are settling for scraps.
Only one new movie, Universal and DreamWorks'
"The Croods: A New Age," was released in
theaters. The animated sequel to 2013's
unexpected hit "The Croods" surpassed
expectations, generating $9.71 million over the
weekend and $14.22 million since opening on
Wednesday. That's considered a success in the
age of coronavirus, but it's hardly what
Universal was expecting when the studio
initially greenlit the follow-up.
"This level of business is a far cry from
typical Thanksgiving weekend releases, but
success and failure in the middle of a pandemic
should be viewed in relative terms," says Shawn
Robbins, chief analyst at Box Office Pro.
To Robbins' point, past holiday hits were able
to play in more than 4,000 theaters nationwide.
With the majority of multiplexes closed,
including those in major markets like New York
and Los Angeles, "The Croods 2" could only
screen in 2,211 venues.
Even with those limitations, "The Croods 2" is
eyeing a pandemic-era record. Final tallies are
usually reported on Monday. If estimates hold,
"The Croods: A New Age" would eclipse "Tenet"
for the biggest opening weekend since movie
theaters reopened. Christopher Nolan's latest
grossed $9.35 million in its first three days of
release.
"For this film to outperform expectations in a
less-than-half operational market indicates that
moviegoers, especially families, miss the big
screen experience and are seeking it out where
safe and possible to do so," Robbins says. "The
industry still has a challenging road ahead
through winter. But Croods' debut is a
preliminary sign of the resilience cinemas can
show in the long run."
Overseas, "The Croods 2" amassed $20.8 million
from seven international markets for a global
tally of $35 million. China alone accounted for
$19.2 million of weekend earnings.
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 Universal, compared to rivals,
has been active in releasing movies during the
pandemic. That's because the studio forged
unprecedented deals with AMC Theatres and
Cinemark, two of the country's biggest movie
theater chains. Typically, movies play
exclusively in theaters for 75 to 90 days before
they move to online rental services.
But under Universal and AMC's
new agreement, the studio can put new films on
premium video-on-demand within weeks of their
theatrical debuts. In return, the cinema
circuits are expected to get a cut of the
digital profits. "The Croods: A New Age" is
scheduled to land on home entertainment in time
for Christmas.
"The Croods: A New Age" was the only movie to
surpass $1 million in ticket sales over the
weekend. Body-swap horror movie "Freaky," also
from Universal, landed in second place with
$770,000 over the weekend. In total, the R-rated
thriller has made $7 million in three weeks.
Robert De Niro's "The War With Grandpa"
continues to show rare staying power two months
after it debuted. The family comedy secured the
No. 3 spot with $643,936, which boosts its total
to a surprisingly strong $17.2 million.
"Let Him Go" and "Come Play," both from Focus
Features, rounded out the top five. "Let Him
Go," a suspense drama starring Kevin Costner and
Diane Lane, brought in $453,000 over the
weekend. After four weeks in theaters, the movie
has made $8.7 million. Falling not far behind,
the thriller "Come Play" scraped together
$387,000 between Friday and Sunday for a
domestic tally of $8.7 million.
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