‘The Croods: A New Age’ Garners Biggest Box Office Debut Since Pandemic's Outset

'The Croods: A New Age' saw the biggest box office opening of any film since the lockdowns began in March, beating 'Tenet' and Disney's 'Onward.'

November 29, 2020

croods box office — Image via Getty/Pascal Le Segretain
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It seems like the cinema industry still has a bright future.

The Croods: A New Age landed the biggest debut of any film released during the pandemic, garnering $14.22 million at the domestic box office during the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, CNBC reports. From Friday to Sunday, the animated offering brought in an estimated $9.71 million.

In the international box office, the Dreamworks movie is poised to amass $20.8 million in sales, with a total global earning of around $35 million for its opening.

“Given the constraints of the marketplace, the performance of The Croods: A New Age shows that family audiences were indeed interested in going out to the movie theater,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, told the outlet. “Despite the availability of the film on home video in the not-too-distant future, experiencing the film on the big screen had appeal for audiences around the world who showed up in solid numbers.”

It was uncertain how The Croods would do during the Thanksgiving weekend, particularly since COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed in recent weeks and the number of operating theaters have dwindled. There are only 2,267 open theaters in the U.S. and Canada, around 38 percent of the cinemas that were open at the same time in 2019.

Still, The Croods had the most sizable opening since Disney’s Onward, which arrived in March before the pandemic was in full swing. The Croods also eclipsed Warner Bros.’ Tenet, which debuted at $9.35 million over Labor Day Weekend.

“For this film to outperform expectations in a less-than-half operational market and post the highest opening so far in the pandemic era indicates that moviegoers, especially families, miss the big screen experience and are seeking it out where safe and possible to do so,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice.com, told CNBC. “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.”