‘Croods’ still tops in subdued season
Universal and DreamWorks’ “The Croods: A New Age” repeated as winner of a mild post-Thanksg iv ing weekend with $4.4 million at 2,205 North American locations.
T he animated comedy sequel, featuring a voice cast of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds, has been dominating the seriously subdued moviegoing business since its Nov. 25 launch with $20.3 million in its first dozen days. It’s a respectable performance, given that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a majority of U. S. theater sites being closed. Sites that remain open often are operating with reduced capacity, limited hours and social distancing requirements.
“After an opening that topped very modest expectations, ‘Croods’ is naturally remaining the dominant film in a market operating with less than 40% of theaters open currently,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Box Office Pro. “Renewed lockdowns and closures across the country will probably keep exhibition’s hands tied for the remainder for the holidays, even with ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ and a few other releases on the horizon to provide open theaters and willing audiences with fresh content.”
Focus Features’ launch of the comedy “Half Brothers,” starring Luis Gerardo Mendez and Connor Del Rio, finished a distant second with $720,000 at 1,369 locations followed by the fourth frame of Universal’s body-swap horror title “Freaky” with $ 460,000 at 1,502 sites. Universal’s opening of romance drama “All My Life,” starring Jessica Rothe and Harry Shum Jr., came in fourth with a quiet $350,000 at 970 locations.
The ninth weekend of 101 Studios’ Robert De Niro comedy “The War With Grandpa” continued to show staying power in fifth place with $329,359 at 1,285 sites to lift its total to $17.6 million. Focus took the next two slots with the sixth week of horrorthriller “Come Play” earning $235,000 at 773 sites, and the fifth frame of suspense-thriller “Let Him Go” with $215,000 at 1,113 locations.
No major studios titles are due to launch in theaters until Christmas Day.