The theatrical schedule is still a barren wasteland, with very few titles on the horizon that have the potential to draw audiences back to the big screen in large numbers. Warner Bros. acknowledged as much when they held on to Wonder Woman 1984‘s December 25th debut in cinemas, but announced that the blockbuster superhero sequel would also hit HBO Max on the same day, where it’ll remain for a month before becoming available on VOD. Paul W.S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter is also scheduled for a theatrical release before the end of the year, but you’d be forgiven for not even noticing that The Croods: A New Age is coming to a multiplex near you as soon as this week (November 25th).
The first installment for the prehistoric family was a surprisingly big box office hit back in 2013, racing to almost $590 million globally and scoring an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. A sequel was confirmed shortly after, but the project was once killed entirely at DreamWorks before being resurrected, and the Croods will now make their grand return in a family film that stands absolutely no chance of turning any sort of profit during a time when the entire industry is still on its knees, despite boasting a star-studded voice cast that includes Ryan Reynolds, Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Leslie Mann and Peter Dinklage.
Critics have been a bit mixed on the film so far as well, and The Croods: New Age currently holds a solid if unspectacular Rotten Tomatoes score of 67% with over 20 reviews counted, with the general consensus being that it marks a perfectly acceptable entry into the canon of primary-colored animated comedies that fitfully entertain for a couple of hours but don’t really leave any sort of lasting impression.
Tell us, though, do you plan on checking out Ryan Reynolds‘ new effort when it hits theaters? As always, let us know down below.