This weekend, DreamWorks saw "Home" obtain one of the best opening weekends for one of their films.

The animated film opened with $54 million and was on par with recent animated film "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" and "Big Hero 6." The opening marked DreamWorks' revival after a number of disappointments which started last year with the critically acclaimed "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" and "How to Train Your Dragon 2." "Penguins of Madagascar" followed with one of the worst entries for the company.

"Home's" opening weekend is among the top openings for DreamWorks for a non-sequel. It now ranks behind "Monster vs. Aliens" and "Kung Fu Panda." It also ranks behind the mega blockbuster "Shrek."

DreamWorks had been struggling for quite some time and even though "Home" did not have the best reviews, it proved that families are interested in fresh new content. It also proved that with very little competition, family audiences are more likely to see the newest film out.

Last year, DreamWorks struggled because "Mr. Peabody" had to compete with "The Lego Movie" while "Penguins of Madagascar" competed with Disney's robot film "Big Hero 6." Meanwhile, "How to Train Your Dragon 2" had an empty marketplace. However, the film came out four years after the first one and summer audiences were overwhelmed with sequel fatigue.

With "Home," DreamWorks had no other film to compete with. "SpongeBob" had been released two months before and "Paddington" was already three months old. The only offerings were "Cinderella" and "Insurgent", both of which appeal to a mostly female demographic. The rest of the films were rated R or inappropriate for families.

Looking ahead for "Home," DreamWorks has no other animated film in the next few weeks to compete with and with spring break coming up in the next week, the film will likely have standout weekends and could reach the $200 million.

The landscape for animated films also looks promising. This year will see the highly anticipated Pixar film "Inside Out," the "Despicable Me" spinoff "Minions," "The Peanuts Movie" and Disney's "The Good Dinosaur." None of these films are sequels to other films, but two are based on popular characters. "Minons" and "The Peanuts Movie" are based some of the most popular animated characters of all time and while they may not seem fresh, the popularity of the characters will definitely drive business. After all, "The Spongebob Movie" was based on a show that peaked almost ten years ago. However, the film still managed to be a standout at the box office.

Meanwhile, "Inside Out" and "The Good Dinosaur" are original ideas. Based on Pixar's track record and Disney's latest films "Big Hero 6" and "Frozen," these films will likely be big hits as well.

It will also help that the films will not be piled on top of each other. The studios have carefully spread these films apart allowing for audiences to breathe and not have to choose one from other.

With a soaring box office thus far, it seems the animated studios are ready for a great year.

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