Why ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ Disappointed at the Renewed Box Office

The box office is heading in the right direction.

This may have been the best weekend at theaters in almost a year.

And initial signs are that even with reduced capacities, reopened New York City theaters responded encouragingly.With both “Raya and the Last Dragon” (Disney) and “Tom & Jerry” (Warner Bros.) grossed over $6 million, the top 10 grossed over $23 million, with the total take over $24 million.

That is the same as December 25-27 (normally a massive weekend).

This was also the best year-to-year performance since March, with business down “only” 76 percent compared to most weeks closer to 90 percent.Fact is: this is a low bar to exceed.

Why? With the second week of Warners’ animation franchise reboot, and especially with the release of the first Disney animated film in theaters in over a year, along with the New York openings, a better performance seemed possible.Most significant is the anemic showing of “Raya.

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