Mar 25, 2024

'Kung Fu Panda 4' Pushes Franchise to Over $2 Billion in Third Weekend

DreamWorks Animation's "Kung Fu Panda 4" (directed by Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Stephanie Marr Stein) topped the global box office over the weekend, grossing an estimated $72 million worldwide.

This was enough to put the Kung Fu Panda franchise over the $2 billion mark, a milestone it achieved alongside fellow DreamWorks films "Madagascar" ($2.27 billion) and "Shrek" ($4.03 billion).

Kung Fu Panda 4 added 13 new markets in its third weekend of release, bringing its weekend international total to $55.3 million. In China, the film opened in first place with a respectable $26 million, and in Brazil it again took the top spot with $2.5 million, the second-best opening in DreamWorks history. It also debuted at the top spot in Italy ($4.4 million) and the Netherlands ($1.5 million).

Domestically, the Universal-distributed film finished third with $16.8 million in 3,805 theaters. Kung Fu Panda 4's total North American box office was $133.2 million.

Most box office websites said that KFP4 is on track to surpass the second and third films in the franchise, but will not reach the original's lifetime box office of $631.7 million.

Disney completed the final step in its ill-fated plan to bring three pandemic-era Pixar films to theaters by releasing "Luca" in 1,390 theaters. The film grossed only $550,000 at the box office, for a low average of $395 per screen. This figure is on par with the lackluster opening weekends of "Soul" and "Turning Red."