Seven and a half years after the original first arrived, the Croods are getting a sequel that hits theaters in just under four weeks, and you have to admire DreamWorks and Universal’s determination to stick to their guns and release it on the big screen during a time when the theatrical industry is still a long way away from recovery. Not only is The Croods: A New Age one of the few mainstream titles arriving before the end of 2020, but it’s the only one that was actually moved forward on the calendar after having originally been scheduled for December.
Luckily for the studio, the first installment is proving to be hugely popular on Netflix, and the executives in the boardroom will be hoping that translates to people heading out to their local cinema to see the follow-up. Indeed, The Croods has remained one of the most-streamed titles in the United States almost all week now as subscribers check out the first adventure for the prehistoric family starring Ryan Reynolds, Nicolas Cage and Emma Stone.
The Croods was a massive hit when it landed in 2013, earning almost $590 million at the box office, but the sequel was canceled altogether at one stage before being resurrected and the original had been mostly forgotten about until the follow-up was announced to be back on the table and in active development.
Of course, Netflix already have plenty of history with the brand, having been the home of animated spinoff Dawn of the Croods that ran for four seasons between 2015 and 2017. Not only that, but the movie also picked up an Academy Award and Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature as well as nine nods at the Annies, while it still holds a relatively solid Rotten Tomatoes score of 71%. And based on how popular The Croods has been on the streaming site lately, it’ll no doubt be fresh in the minds of many subscribers when the sequel’s marketing blitz kicks off in the near future.