Box Office: ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Triumphs Again

Universal and Dreamworks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 outperformed expectations with a powerful #1 launch at the U.S. box office.

Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” remained victorious at the domestic box office, collecting a solid $30 million in its second weekend of release. After 10 days on the big screen, the animated family film has grossed $107.7 million in North America and $176.5 million globally.Eighth-biggest Dreamworks opening of all time, and the best opening for Dreamworks since Universal Pictures acquired the studio in 2016.Besides, the film had a budget of just $85 million. That’s a significant reduction in production cost compared to earlier entries in the KFP series whose budgets ranged $130-150m.

Distributed by Universal, Kung Fu Panda 4, directed by Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stine, is now the first animated film to top the domestic box office in back-to-back weeks since The Super Mario Bros. Movie did so in April of last year. That film was also released by Universal, which has become the dominant animation distributor at U.S. theaters over the last several years.

“It’s not a family film or a comedy, but it’s not a hard adventure for moviegoers who like edgier entertainment,” says David A. Gross of movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “All of that complicates the sell.”