‘Kung Fu Panda’ skadooshes to a box office win
The fourth ‘Kung Fu Panda’ movie recaptures the box office magic of the original while ‘Dune: Part Two’ passes its predecessor’s domestic haul.
Hello! Welcome to The Box Office Report for the weekend of March 8-10, 2024.
1. Kung Fu Panda 4
Weekend gross: $53.3M
Total domestic gross: $58.3M
Last weekend: New release
Percent drop: NA
Whether it was Po or Paul at No. 1, everyone is a winner at the box office this weekend. Both Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two exceeded expectations, leading to the first weekend to have two movies gross at least $40 million since Barbie and Oppenheimer did it back in July.
After disappearing for almost a decade, Jack Black’s Kung Fu Panda roared back into theaters. (Do pandas roar? They seem more like the yawning type.) The fourth installment of the animated franchise notched a $58.3 million opening weekend, the best for the series since the original opened with $60.2 million in June 2008. (Once the actual numbers come in on Monday, there’s a chance Kung Fu Panda 4 could top that mark too.)
As we saw during Migration’s $125 million run in North America, there’s a hunger for family friendly animated movies.
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2. Dune: Part Two
Weekend gross: $46M
Total domestic gross: $157M
Last weekend: 1st
Percent drop: 44
Dune: Part Two has already demolished the $110 million domestic haul of its predecessor. The first Dune’s $434.8 million worldwide haul should fall next, with Dune: Part Two currently standing just shy of $370 million.
I did my part to fuel Dune: Part Two’s second weekend, seeing the movie again in IMAX. It’s doing huge IMAX numbers. I’ve talked to people who are waiting to see it in IMAX, which is great for Warner Bros. when it comes to selling premium tickets, but how long can that cash worm keep going? Like with Oppenheimer over the summer, the IMAX ride eventually ends. (Kong x Godzilla: The New Empire is already hyping up the fact that it’s an IMAX film.)
