Box office: The Croods: A New Age remains dominant species for third weekend with $3 million as Elf returns to theaters with a sweet $400k

DreamWorks Animation dominated the domestic box office for the third weekend in a row with The Croods: A New Age.

The primeval sequel nabbed an extra $3 million, bumping its North American total to $24.1 million, Variety confirmed Sunday morning. Internationally, the movie raked in an additional $8.4 million for a global tally of $76.3 million. Ticket sales continue to remain low at home as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the theatrical industry. Per Variety, an estimated 35% of venues are currently operating throughout the U.S. If A New Age continues at this pace, however, the studio is sure to green-light a third entry in the prehistoric franchise.

Speaking with SYFY WIRE over Zoom, director Joel Crawford discussed the influence of caveman classics like The Flintstones.

"The Flintstones is such a classic and quite an important step in animation," he said. "But we definitely were like, "We don't wanna feel like we're doing The Flintstones. We want this to be separate." We really tried to tap into making sure the creatures felt like they were a part of the world. I'd say in The Flintstones, the creatures can talk. The record player guy [for instance] goes, "It's a living!" So, we didn't go that far, but I think you can't escape the comparisons."

The 2003 holiday classic Elf was re-released into theaters and managed to take the third box office slot with $400,000. With a $33 million budget, the yuletide touchstone went on to make over $220 million worldwide. Even after all these years, it seems that Will Ferrell's happy-go-lucky Buddy is still able to spread Christmas cheer, especially in these trying times. Universal's Freaky came in fourth with $315,000. To date, the body swapping horror flick has made $8.2 million domestically and over $13 million worldwide.

A new genre contender will enter the box office next weekend when Paul W.S. Anderson's Monster Hunter adaptation opens in theaters Friday, Dec. 18. The Sony film has already opened internationally, bringing in $2.6 million thus far. You can check out an exclusive look behind the making of the Capcom-inspired film right here.

Wonder Woman 1984 will arrive on the big screen the following Friday (Dec. 25, aka Christmas Day) as Warner Bros. tries out its newly-announced dual rollout. The DC tentpole is set to arrive on HBO Max the same day. While revolutionary, the theatrical-streaming strategy wasn't too well-received by the studio's high-profile filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve.

Hopefully, Monster Hunter and Wonder Woman 1984 can help salvage what is left of the (near lost) cause that is the 2020 box office.

(DreamWorks Animation and SYFY WIRE are both owned by NBCUniversal.)