Box office: The Croods 2 hits $50 million domestically, could top Tenet's COVID-era record

The Croods: A New Age continues to dominate the North American box office during its thirteenth week in theaters.

Per Variety, the DreamWorks Animation sequel (also available to rent/buy on PVOD) has finally hit $50 million in domestic ticket sales and could overtake Warner Bros.' Tenet as the highest-grossing theatrical release of the pandemic. During its run in theaters, Christopher Nolan's time-inverting blockbuster racked up $58 million domestically and over $360 million globally. A New Age probably won't be able to top that worldwide gross (right now, it's only got just over $151 million around the world), but it certainly has the chance of becoming the biggest North American release since the virus known as COVID-19 threw a massive wrench into the theatrical industry last March.

Recently speaking with SYFY WIRE, A New Age director Joel Crawford sounded off on the potential for a third installment and how it might address the passing of Cloris Leachman (voice of "Gran"). 

"Obviously, we don't even know if we're doing a third film, but we love these characters and we want to keep telling their stories," he said. "But yes, as a team, I've talked with the producers about that kind of overarching thing of when it could be a poignant moment at some point when Gran passes, but we honestly haven't figured out all that yet."

Elsewhere, Warner Bros.' Wonder Woman 1984 nabbed the fourth spot at the domestic box office with another $805,000. To date, the DC follow-up, which streamed on HBO Max for 30 days, has made $42 million in North America and nearly $160 million globally. The studio was so pleased with the film's Christmas 2020 debut, that a third film was officially green-lit. Both Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot will return for the comic book trilogy capper.

While American theaters continue to struggle amid the health crisis, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel as more and more people are vaccinated against the virus. China, for example, has seen a robust return in ticket sales, with "a record $1.2 billion in ticket sales over China’s Lunar New Year holiday," writes Variety. A Writer’s Odyssey is among the blockbusters helping reinvigorate the country's box office.

“The results out of China are certainly encouraging,” senior Comsore analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Variety. “[It] demonstrates that an effective pandemic response, combined with a steady stream of local product, can do wonders for the bottom line. As the vaccine rollout continues in the U.S. and cases decline, this portends a very robust future for the domestic box office."

(SYFY WIRE & DreamWorks Animation are both owned by NBCUniversal)