Pandemic had a great impact on all sectors, especially on the film industry. Movie theatres, film festivals, shootings, everything was called off or moved to future dates due to shutdowns and complete lockdowns around the world. Due to the closure of cinema theatres, the box office has faced a loss of billions of dollars; however, the streaming giants managed to build up their business with new releases on their digital platforms.
Countries that were pandemic hot-spots had closed down or had restricted screenings in the movie theaters, negatively affecting film revenue. In spite of the limited seating and screenings, the animated films managed to earn millions of dollars during this period. However, if they would have been released under normal circumstances, they surely would have raked in more.
Here are the Top Five animated films that performed well at the box office:
Demon Slayer the movie: Mugen Train (2020)
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train was initially released on 16 October 2020 in Japan. The Japanese animated dark fantasy period film is the first non-American film to top the yearly box office.
The animated feature collected $21 million on its opening weekend in Japan; making a record for the highest collection ever for an anime
It is the highest-grossing anime film to collect $438 million globally.
In the overseas market, Demon Slayer has already made several box office records. In Japan, it has become the highest-grossing movie ever with ticket sales surpassing $368 million.
Demon Slayer is the story of a boy and his demon sister and features spectacularly animated battles and is based on the manga series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotouge.
The Croods: New Age (2020)
The Croods: New Age was theatrically released on 25 November 2020. The animated adventure comedy grossed $168 million worldwide against a $65 million budget.
The sequel to The Croods (2013) collected $9.8 million on its opening weekend. The animated feature earned $58 billion in the domestic market and managed to collect $110 million internationally.
The story depicts the prehistoric family – the Croods, who are challenged by a rival family – the Bettermans, who claim to be better and more evolved.
The movie is directed by Joel Crawford and produced by DreamWorks Animation.
Tom & Jerry (2021)
Warner Bros. Tom & Jerry hit the theatre screens on 26 February 2021. The live-action/computer-animated slapstick comedy earned $111 million worldwide despite negative critical reviews. The budget for this hybrid movie was $79 million.
The animated comedy feature collected $14 million on its opening weekend.
However, with the simultaneous streaming release on HBO Max, the film garnered $45 million domestically and $66 million in the international market.
The story shows the chaotic battle between Jerry ( the mouse), who has taken refuge in the Royal Gate Hotel, and Tom (the cat), who is hired to drive him away before the day of a big wedding arrives.
It is the second theatrical film based on the characters following 1992’s Tom and Jerry: The Movie directed by Tim Story and produced by Warner Animation Group and The Story Company.
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon was released on 5 March 2021 with a simultaneous premiere release on Disney +.
The animated movie grossed a box office collection of $108 million worldwide against its $100 million budget.
The fantasy action-adventure film collected $9 million in its opening weekend. The film is credited with many positive critical reviews for its animation, visuals, action sequences, characters.
Raya and the Last Dragon was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on 25 November 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film’s release was delayed to 5 March 2021.
The film made $46 million in the domestic market and $62 million internationally.
The story revolves around a warrior named Raya, who is determined to find the last dragon in Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization. Directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada and produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Trolls World Tour (2020)
The animated jukebox musical film Trolls World Tour was initially released on 10 April 2020, due to the pandemic it was simultaneously released on various video on-demand platforms.
The animated feature managed to collect $45 million globally against its budget of $90 million.
The sequel to Trolls (2016) is directed by Walt Dohrn and produced by DreamWorks Animations and Universal Pictures.
The story shows the Queen of the Hard Rock Trolls tries to take over all the Troll kingdoms, Queen Poppy and her friends try different ways to save all the Trolls.
Other animated movies which were released in theatres during the pandemic but didn’t make it to the list include Onward ($142 million), Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 ($74 million), Detective Conan: the Scarlet Bullet ($64.5 million), Scoob! ($24 million), Violet Evergarden the Movie Bullet ($20 million), Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna ($17 million), The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run ($4.9 million), Wolf Walkers ($229,041).