By Juanique Tennant

Beloved cat-and-mouse cartoon duo Tom and Jerry have taken box offices by storm – by COVID-19 pandemic standards, that is – with a surprising US$14.1-million opening in the United States this past weekend (February 26-28).

The cartoon critters are bringing the nostalgia back with their first big budget, self titled, live action/animated feature, Tom & Jerry.

It’s now the second film in the last 10 months, after Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984 in December, to surpass US$10 million in US domestic box office sales.

The better-than-expected opening came despite only 42 per cent of US theatres being open at some capacity and the fact that the film simultaneously streamed in cinemas as it did in the home, where it is currently, and for the next month, available for viewing on HBO Max.

The surge in ticket sales suggests “a positive sign for the business and for theatrical’s pull over home entertainment,” said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research.

This notwithstanding the fact that, under normal circumstances, a film like Tom & Jerry should comfortably earn above $35 million in post release domestic box office sales.

While the prospect of in-theatre entertainment is proving to be appealing to many – especially after seeing cinemas across the world forced to close their doors during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic – Tom & Jerry isn’t quite what critics seem to have been hoping for as a symbol of the industry’s resurgence.

The long-awaited theatrical film, announced as far back as 2009, tells the tale of a years long rivalry that reemerges when both Tom and Jerry relocate to New York.

Jerry, after moving into New York City’s finest hotel, no sooner begins to wreak havoc on the eve of the wedding of the century, forcing a desperate event planner to hire Tom to get rid of him.

As is typical of the relationship between these two, mayhem ensues with a cat-and-mouse battle that threatens to destroy the career of the event planner, the wedding, and possibly the hotel itself.

To date, Tom & Jerry has earned more than $25.6 million in international sales, bringing the worldwide box office sales to over $39.7 million, a hopeful indication that traditional theatre entertainment will still stand a chance against home entertainment post pandemic.