As the weekend’s box office numbers began coming in, Tom & Jerry surprisingly did very well. The Tim Story directed film brought in $13.7 million in the United States and $25 million internationally. Tom & Jerry had the second highest opening weekend performance since the COVID-19 pandemic started, only being beaten out by Wonder Woman 1984, which brought in $16.7 million. 

Why is Tom & Jerry so successful? There are many factors, including that this was the first Tom & Jerry film since 1992, and the simple fact that people are just excited to be in movie theaters again. According to Screen Rant, the biggest contributor in this box office success however, is the fact that Tom and Jerry was simultaneously released this weekend on HBO Max. While many HBO Max users are likely a huge part of Tom and Jerry’s success, there was still a large number of people that went to their local theater.

Even though the film brought in a lot of money, the critical reception of Tom & Jerry wasn’t as promising. Particular criticism included the focus on the live-action actors rather than Tom and Jerry themselves, as well the boring performances from those actors. The live action and animation hybrid was not liked by many. At the end of the day, even though the reception wasn’t as great, the box office numbers give hope that one day life may go back to normal, or as close to normal as it can get.