Even before the COVID-19 era, which shows no signs of ending anytime soon, February was hardly renowned as a bumper month for the box office. A combination of awards season holdovers and unwanted studio projects tended to dominate the chart, but even by current standards, this weekend has been fairly dismal.
That being said, the creative team behind The Croods: A New Age will be more than happy that the animated sequel, which was once canceled altogether a few years back before being resurrected, has now spent a fifth weekend in the top spot. The second outing for the titular prehistoric family topped the rankings for three weeks when it was first released back in November, but returned to the summit last week and has managed to stay there.
However, a $1.7 million three-day haul only reinforces the dire straits that the theatrical industry still finds itself in, and that’s the lowest amount earned by a number one title all year. In fact, you’d have to go all the way back to mid-November to find the last time a movie claimed the top spot by earning less, when slasher comedy Freaky repeated with just under $1.3 million, ironically the week before A New Age initially hit the big screen.
We’ve been holding out hope for a while now that the decline of the cinematic experience could almost be over, but things still aren’t looking great. Godzilla vs. Kong stands the best chance of arresting the slump when it stomps onto the scene at the end of next month, but until then, the situation remains dire, although props to The Croods: A New Age for continuing to perform well above expectations.
