The butt-kicking new chapter in DreamWorks Animation’s action-comedy franchise, Kung Fu Panda 4, brought comedy icon Jack Black back to his role as Po, the world’s most unlikely kung fu master. The film easily nabbed the top spot at the box office last weekend with $57.9M, scoring an $11.7M lead over Dune: Part Two’s second weekend.
The fourquel sees Dragon Warrior Po (Black) tapped to become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace. Before he can assume his new position, he must train a new Dragon Warrior and face off against the wicked sorceress Chameleon (Viola Davis). Po is accompanied on his adventure by a quick-witted fox named Zhen (Awkwafina). The film also features the voice talent of returning stars Dustin Hoffman as Kung Fu master Shifu, James Hong as Po’s adoptive father Mr. Ping, Bryan Cranston as Po’s birth father Li, and Ian McShane as Shifu’s former student and arch-nemesis Tai Lung. Ke Huy Quan also joins the ensemble as Han, the leader of the Den of Thieves.
According to Vista Group, the three-day opening weekend of Kung Fu Panda 4 attracted 46% of infrequent moviegoers, which was well above the 33% infrequent moviegoers that Kung Fu Panda 3 brought to cinemas back in 2016. Occasional and frequent moviegoer figures saw a decrease of 9% and 7% respectively for the fourth installment.
The opening weekends for both films were equally skewed, with Kung Fu Panda 3’s opening weekend audience 50% male and 50% female and Kung Fu Panda 4 tracking at a higher male demographic, with 55% male and 45% female. Both films shared similar age demographics for children and parents, with Kung Fu Panda 4 attracting 21% of ages 2 – 11 and 20% of ages 35 – 44. Kung Fu Panda 3’s opening weekend consisted of 31% of ages 2 – 11 and 18% of ages 35 – 44.
Kung Fu Panda 4 was directed by Mike Mitchell (Shrek Forever After $238.7M domestic/$752.6M global, Trolls $154M domestic/$347.1M global, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part $105.9M domestic/$199.6M global) and co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stine. The fourth entry in the franchise landed an A- CinemaScore and 80% positive on ComScore’s PostTrak. The film is expected to remain in the lead this weekend, when it goes against family-friendly live action title Arthur the King. The first three entries in the Kung Fu Panda franchise accumulated $524.5M domestic and over $1.8 billion globally.
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