The Croods: A New Age clubs U.S. box office again for the second weekend with $4.4 million

The Croods: A New Age dominated the domestic box office for the second weekend in a row with $4.4 million from 2,205 screens, Variety confirmed Sunday.

Despite a sizable bow of $14.22 million over the long Thanksgiving weekend (a figure that surpassed Tenet's late summer opening), the prehistoric sequel was unable to evolve into a higher box office organism during its sophomore outing. Since opening last Wednesday, the DreamWorks Animation release hase made $20.3 million — a figure that continues to prove that moviegoers are interested in going to theaters for lighter fare amid the global health crisis caused by COVID-19.

“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,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Box Office Pro, told Variety. “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.”

To date, A New Age has made $41 million globally. For comparison, the first Croods film already had $89 million by its second weekend after opening in North America seven years ago. After its theatrical run, the first movie had raked in $587 million worldwide.

"I’ve spent three years with these characters and I love them," director Joel Crawford said during an interview with SYFY WIRE when asked about a possible third entry in the franchise. "I love the Croods and I love the fantastical world. I really think they do connect with families universally because there’s just a way in for everybody. There’s a grandparent, there’s parents, there’s kids. But honestly, I think it’s mostly up to the audience to demand a third because yeah, of course, I’d love [another] one!"

Elsewhere, Universal and Blumhouse's Freaky brought in an extra $460,000 from 1,502 domestic theaters. The horror comedy from writer-director Christopher Langdon (Happy Death Day) now has a North American cume of $7.7 million and a globally tally of $12.6 million. The movie is also available on PVOD and will enjoy a watch party later today, hosted by director Kevin Smith. You can get more details on that event right here.

Lastly, Focus Features and Amblin's Come Play raked in $235,000 from 773 theaters. With just over $8 million in at-home sales and $2.1 million in international ticket sales, the horror flick (a fleshed out version of Jacob Chase's short film "Larry") now has a worldwide total of just over $11 million.

Credit: Universal Pictures/Blumhouse & Focus Features/Amblin Partners

On Christmas Day, Warner Bros. will release Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters and onto HBO Max Christmas Day (Friday, Dec. 25). The studio shocked filmgoers earlier this week by revealing that all of its 2021 releases (a slate that includes blockblusters like The Suicide Squad, Dune, and The Matrix 4) would also receive simultaneous rollouts in the world of theaters and streaming.

“Considering the shift each week toward fewer open theaters in North America and dynamic release windows that place the small screen availability of theatrical films within reach of consumers in a relatively short amount of time, the big screen remains a draw and thus remains part of every studio’s release strategy,” Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst with Comscore, also told Variety, estimating that 35% of U.S. theaters are currently open right now.

Christmas Day will also see the release of Pixar's Soul on Disney+ and Sony's Monster Hunter in theaters.

(DreamWorks Animation, Universal Pictures, and SYFY WIRE are all owned by NBCUniversal)