The Croods: A New Age has a resurgence at the weekend box office

The Croods return to the top!

Although it has been in theaters for a full three months now, the animated DreamWorks sequel THE CROODS: A NEW AGE somehow returned to the top of box office this weekend with an estimated $2.04 million.

Originally arriving in theaters for Thanksgiving weekend, the Universal release improved on last weekend's figure to lurch back up to first place (the kind of chart activity not seen for an "older" release since the 1970s and 80s), and will also win the four-day domestic President's Day holiday weekend.

The PG-rated feature (with the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds) now has a domestic total of $48.3 million and a worldwide total of $150.8 million, on a reported cost of $65 million.

Opening in second place was the new historical drama JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH with $2 million for the three-day weekend.

The R-rated biopic, detailing the betrayal of Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) by FBI informant William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), cost a reported $26 million.

Directed by Shaka King, the awards contender from Warner Bros. was simultaneously released on their HBO Max streaming service (after a Sundance premiere earlier in the month).

Critics were impressed with the story and performances, giving the movie a 97% average on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 87 on Metacritic. Check out the JoBlo review right HERE.

In third place (technically tied for second, at least with current estimates) was the R-rated Denzel Washington/Rami Malek/Jared Leto thriller THE LITTLE THINGS with $2 million on its third weekend in theaters.

Writer-director John Lee Hancock's $30 million crime-drama (also still available for viewing on Warner Bros.' HBO Max platform) has a domestic total of $10.2 million and $16.6 million worldwide.

Following that was another tie: the Liam Neeson action-thriller THE MARKSMAN and the superhero sequel WONDER WOMAN 1984 were in fourth and/or fifth place with $1.1 million each (with both also improving over last weekend's take).

On its fifth weekend, Open Road's PG-13 Neeson movie now has a domestic total of $10.4 million and $13.1 million worldwide, while Warner Bros.' second solo adventure of the famous comic book heroine has $41.8 million domestic and $157 million worldwide after eight weeks.

In sixth place was the new PG-13 drama LAND with an estimated $940,000 for its first weekend on 1230 screens.

The release from Universal's Focus Features follows a bereaved woman (Robin Wright, also making her directorial debut) living off the grid in the wilderness of the Rockies.

The survival story didn't completely land with critics, who gave it an average of 69% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 61 on Metacritic.

Paul W.S. Anderson's $60 million videogame adaptation MONSTER HUNTER was in seventh place with $650,000 for a domestic total of $12.7 million after nine weekends in theaters.

In eighth place was the PG-13 Tom Hanks Western NEWS OF THE WORLD with $385,000 over its eighth weekend, bringing the Paul Greengrass-directed Universal release to $11.3 million domestic on a reported $38 million cost.

Closing out the list was the R-rated revenge drama PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN and the persistent Robert De Niro comedy THE WAR WITH GRANDPA on its 19th weekend.

Meanwhile, China seems to be returning to normal business despite the pandemic — the action-comedy sequel DETECTIVE CHINATOWN 3 just opened with a record-breaking $400 million weekend, bigger than the $357 million domestic debut of AVENGERS: ENDGAME in 2019.

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