The Croods: A New Age has officially beaten out Tenet to have the highest-grossing opening of the pandemic. The DreamWorks sequel being a bigger hit at the box office than a Christopher Nolan thriller would usually be surprising news, but obviously the movie landscape is very different in 2020, so it’s not as earth-shaking as it sounds. Still, the studio will likely be pleased with the outcome.
The follow-up to the 2013 original raked in $9.7 million over its first 3 days, which means it slightly edges out the total Tent made over the Labor Day weekend, which was $9.35 million. The Croods’ gross extended to $14.2 million after 5 days, for a global total of $35 million. Again, these figures would be atrocious during any normal Thanksgiving weekend, which is usually a big deal for the movie world, but in 2020, it’s good news and the marketing push for the film clearly paid off.
As for the rest of the table, Blumhouse’s horror comedy Freaky is still in second, bringing in $770,000 in its third weekend, while Robert De Niro holiday flick The War with Grandpa is in third with $643,000. Neo-western Let Him Go, featuring Man of Steel stars Diane Lane and Kevin Costner, bags fourth with $453,000, and Come Play, another horror, then rounds things off at fifth place with $387,000.
The Croods 2 sees Emma Stone, Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds and Catherine Keener return to voice the eponymous caveman clan, who this time encounter the more highly evolved prehistoric family, the Bettermans – played by Peter Dinklage, Leslie Mann and Kelly Marie Tran. It’s received generally positive reviews from critics, standing at 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences are loving it, too, rating it a high 95%. As the critical consensus puts it: “Another agreeable outing for the titular prehistoric clan, The Croods: A New Age may be the missing link for parents between more elevated family-friendly fare.”
For those who can’t see it in theaters, The Croods 2 is due to hit premium VOD in December.
