Kung Fu Panda 4
Once again beating out Paul Atreides by a fuzzy nose this weekend for the #1 slot was Dreamworks and Universal’s Kung Fu Panda 4, which brought in an estimated $30 million in 4,067 North American theaters for a $107.74 million domestic cume. That’s a -48% drop from the previous debut week, with a strong $7,376 per-screen average.
The fourquel stacks up on par to other second weekend holds in the franchise:
- Kung Fu Panda (2008) – $33,612,594 million (-44% drop)
- Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) – $23,887,914 million (-50% drop)
- Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) – $21,242,181 million (-49% drop)
It was unfortunate timing for the Mark Wahlberg starrer Arthur the King, which made a grab for the family audience perhaps not suspecting the pull Kung Fu Panda still has 16 years after its launch. Po the panda will face more serious family competition next weekend from Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which is expected to have a $35M-$49M debut for the legacy sequel to the 40-year-old franchise.
Internationally the film took in $39.628 million in 56 territories, 8 of which boasted the biggest opening ever for the franchise (including Mexico). While it doesn’t open in China until March 22 it already boasts $8.8 million in previews, which were not accounted for in the overall total. So far the fourquel has taken in $69.6 million internationally for a worldwide cume of $176.4 million.
Dune: Part Two
Warner Bros.’ sci-fi smash Dune: Part Two surfed a sandworm to #2 in its third week, taking in an estimated $29.1 million domestically on 3,847 screens plus $51.2 million internationally for a domestic cume of $205.8 million and a Shai-Hulud-sized global take of $494.7 million. Denis Villeneuve’s sequel also sandblasted its way past two major milestones, passing the $200 million mark in North America while shooting past $400 million worldwide on its way to clinching $500 million this week. It has now far surpassed the $431.2 million global take of Dune: Part One, and will likely cross over to $600 or even $700 million before all is said and done.
The -37% drop in its third domestic weekend shows great legs for Dune, and the $7,564K PSA is even higher than Kung Fu Panda 4. With a third film yet to be greenlit, all eyes have turned to Arrakis as Dune: Part Two continues to perform well globally despite literal heavy competition from plus-size Po the panda.
Overseas Dune: Part Two took an estimated $51.2 million on 35,593 screens over 73 international markets, remaining the #1 movie worldwide. The highest profile opening of the weekend was Japan, where the movie brought in ¥250m ($1.7 million) on 781 screens, including previews. The top market is currently China with $9.8M for the weekend and $36.1M total. The film also crossed another milestone by crossing the $100 million mark on IMAX alone, with $104 million on the premium format globally.
Arthur the King
While not specifically faith-based, Lionsgate’s Arthur the King was definitely courting the Christian-friendly audience with its family-oriented take on sports racing along with a cute dog and Mark Wahlberg in the lead. It managed to wrangle a similarly-sized audience to The Chosen and Ordinary Angels, taking in an estimated $7.5 million on 3,003 screens domestically to place at #3 in its debut on the box office chart.
The film earned a middling 63% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, yet garnered a 98% audience score alongside an “A” CinemaScore. While the production on this one was rocky—shooting way back in January 2021 with initial distributors Paramount and then Lionsgate dropping out before Lionsgate took it back in 2023—the $19 million budget shouldn’t be hard to recoup after all revenue streams are exploited.
Other Notable Performances
After a spectacular limited performance last week in 5 locations, A24’s Love Lies Bleeding went wide into 1362 screens to earn $2,485,650 million for the weekend to place at #6. It took in $1.1 million on Friday but dwindled to half that (592K) by Sunday. The PSA dropped drastically from $30K last week to $1,825 thousand for this frame. This is still better than the other recent female-centric crime movie Drive Away Dolls, which earned in the same $2.4 million range its first weekend but on 2280 screens.
Bleeker Street’s domestic release of One Life, the Anthony Hopkins biopic of British humanitarian Sir Nicholas Winton, launched at #8 with $1,708,813 million on 983 screens. The film has already played well overseas, taking nearly $30 million worldwide and earning big in markets like the United Kingdom and Australia.
Focus Features’ satire The American Society of Magical Negroes starring Justice Smith took a 3-day weekend estimate of $1.25 million on 1,147 theaters in North America for the #9 spot. Audience skewed 50% male, with demographics like so:
- 52% African American
- 31% Caucasian
- 10% Hispanic
- 4% Asian
Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates:
| Title | Weekend Estimate | % Change | Locations | Location Change | PSA | Domestic Total | Week | Distributor |
| Kung Fu Panda 4 | $30,000,000 | -48% | 4,067 | 32 | $7,376 | $107,744,000 | 2 | Universal |
| Dune: Part Two | $29,100,000 | -37% | 3,847 | -227 | $7,564 | $205,318,000 | 3 | Warner Bros. |
| Arthur the King | $7,500,000 | 3,003 | $2,498 | $7,500,000 | 1 | Lionsgate | ||
| Imaginary | $5,600,000 | -44% | 3,118 | n/c | $1,796 | $19,081,668 | 2 | Lionsgate |
| Cabrini | $2,814,183 | -61% | 2,850 | 10 | $987 | $13,003,109 | 2 | Angel Studios |
| Love Lies Bleeding | $2,485,650 | 1549% | 1,362 | 1357 | $1,825 | $2,762,268 | 2 | A24 |
| Bob Marley: One Love | $2,300,000 | -44% | 2,272 | -492 | $1,012 | $93,365,000 | 5 | Paramount Pi… |
| One Life | $1,708,813 | 983 | $1,738 | $1,708,813 | 1 | Bleecker Street | ||
| The American Society of Magical Negroes | $1,250,000 | 1,147 | $1,090 | $1,250,000 | 1 | Focus Features | ||
| Ordinary Angels | $1,000,000 | -50% | 1,753 | -570 | $570 | $18,072,921 | 4 | Lionsgate |
| Migration | $580,000 | -45% | 879 | -628 | $660 | $126,533,000 | 13 | Universal |
| Madame Web | $400,000 | -64% | 2,015 | n/c | $199 | $43,531,000 | 5 | Sony Pictures |
| YOLO | $305,000 | -63% | 200 | n/c | $1,525 | $1,505,000 | 2 | Sony Pictures |
| Oppenheimer | $302,000 | 1.72 | 681 | 39 | $443 | $329,703,000 | 35 | Universal |
| Problemista | $234,928 | 0.3 | 63 | 43 | $3,729 | $690,934 | 54 | A24 |
| Poor Things | $221,000 | -6% | 840 | 140 | $263 | $34,374,331 | 15 | Searchlight … |
| Wonka | $178,000 | -69% | 382 | -622 | $466 | $218,185,000 | 14 | Warner Bros. |
| Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba—To the Hashira T… | $170,000 | -69% | 257 | -627 | $661 | $17,480,000 | 4 | Crunchyroll |
| Perfect Days | $144,226 | -51% | 144 | -97 | $1,002 | $3,019,655 | 19 | Neon |
| The Zone of Interest | $127,311 | -35% | 212 | -322 | $601 | $8,377,499 | 14 | A24 |
| Argylle | $120,000 | -69% | 266 | -533 | $451 | $45,142,000 | 7 | Universal |
| Exhuma | $65,500 | 3 | $21,833 | $65,500 | 1 | Well Go USA | ||
| The Taste of Things | $51,019 | -57% | 83 | -49 | $615 | $2,513,800 | 19 | IFC Films |
| Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus | $11,293 | 1 | $11,293 | $11,293 | 1 | Janus Films | ||
| Anselm | $3,620 | -44% | 6 | 1 | $603 | $502,336 | 15 | Janus Films |
| Remembering Gene Wilder | $3,007 | 1 | $3,007 | $3,007 | 1 | Kino Lorber |
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