Why, yes, says John Fithian of the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO).

When “Oz” is your first big family picture of the year, when “Jack and the Beanstalk” is a bust, when none of the Oscar contenders hanging around after the first of the year were truly family oriented (“Es Mis,” sort of), when the only kids’ cartoon was the laugh-free thing The Weinstein Co. threw out — so forgettable, I can’t recall the title, oh yeah, “Escape from Planet Earth” — business is going to be down.

It’s 12 % lower than it was last year at this time.

Plainly, there’s a lot more than Dreamworks Animation’s health on the line with “The Croods.” The whole industry could use an “Ice Age” sized hit.