---
title: "‘Tom & Jerry’ Draws $13.7 Million in Second-Best Pandemic Debut"
description: "“Tom & Jerry” led North America’s box office this weekend with $13.7 million in opening sales, the second-best debut since the pandemic began and the largest this year."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Bloomberg"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-02-28-tom-jerry-draws-13-7-million-in-second-best-pandemic-debut/"
published: "2021-02-28T22:22:47"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 248
---

# ‘Tom & Jerry’ Draws $13.7 Million in Second-Best Pandemic Debut

> “Tom & Jerry” led North America’s box office this weekend with $13.7 million in opening sales, the second-best debut since the pandemic began and the largest this year.

By Bloomberg · Published 1 March 2021, 00:22 SAST

## Content

By Yueqi Yang

Feb 28, 2021, 9:58 PM

Word Count: 264

(Bloomberg) --

The Warner Bros. remake of the classic cartoon caper took in $33.1 million globally this weekend, according to industry researcher Comscore Inc., with China its second-largest market.

Kid-friendly movies have performed well during the pandemic as families favor lighter fare. “Wonder Women 1984,” also by Warner Bros. and geared toward a young audience, had the best [weekend opening](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-25/-wonder-woman-likely-to-lasso-more-tv-viewers-than-theatergoers) during the pandemic with $16.7 million. Universal’s “The Croods: A New Age,” which came out around Thanksgiving Day, is now No. 3.

“Tom & Jerry” was released simultaneously on HBO Max in the U.S. for a month. It follows AT&T’s Warner Bros.’ plan to put all of its 2021 movies online the same day they open in cinemas, a strategy that [drew the ire](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-30/-little-things-hits-hbo-max-and-theaters-amid-an-uneasy-truce) of theater chains already starved of new titles and strained by Covid-related capacity restrictions. Prior to the pandemic, theaters usually had as long as three months of exclusive rights to new movies.

About 42% of theaters in North America have reopened, according to Comscore. New York City, a major film market, is set to reopen movie theaters at 25% capacity on Friday. Warner Bros. said it saw “an enormous boost” for “Tom & Jerry” from private theater rental bookings, a new offering by cinemas to attract audiences to return in their own private bubbles.

AMC Entertainment and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema have both introduced private screenings during the pandemic.

--With assistance from Kelly Gilblom.