The Croods is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated comedy adventure film produced by DreamWorks Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It stars the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman. The film is set in a fictional prehistoric Pliocene era known as "The Croodaceous" (a prehistoric period which contains fictional prehistoric creatures) when a caveman's position as a "Leader of the Hunt" is threatened by the arrival of a prehistoric genius who comes up with revolutionary new inventions as they trek through a dangerous but exotic land in search of a new home.
The Croods was written and directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, and produced by Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell. The film premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 15, 2013, and was released in the United States on March 22, 2013. As part of the distribution deal, this was one of the first DreamWorks family films to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, since the end of their distribution deal with Paramount Pictures.
The Croods received generally positive reviews, and proved to be a box office success, earning more than $587 million on a budget of $135 million. The film launched a new franchise, with a television series, Dawn of the Croods, which debuted on December 24, 2015, on Netflix. A sequel was announced for a 2017 release, but was later cancelled. However, it was put back into production in 2017 with a release date scheduled for September 18, 2020.