Summary

• Kung Fu Panda 4 dominated the box office with a $58.3M opening weekend, securing the weekend's top spot.
• The movie's star-studded voice cast includes Jack Black, Ian McShane, and Viola Davis.
• This is the franchise's highest domestic opening gross since the original Kung Fu Panda.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is dominating the box office in its opening weekend. The direct sequel to 2016's Kung Fu Panda 3, the movie stars Jack Black, Awkwafina, Bryan Cranston, Ian McShane, Ke Huy Quan, and other leading actors jumping back into the world of animals trained to fight with kung fu. As Black's Po hopes to train the next Dragon Warrior, he also has to stop the evil Chameleon (Viola Davis).

With the help of its star-studded voice cast, Kung Fu Panda 4 is returning to its place at the top of the box office. Variety reports that it debuted with $58.3 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend. While that was more than enough to secure the top spot at the box office, it has also helped the franchise return to its height. It is the highest domestic opening gross since the original Kung Fu Panda's $60 million, far suring Kung Fu Panda 2's $47.6 million and Kung Fu Panda 3's $41 million.

Is Kung Fu Panda 4 A Return To Form?

Kung Fu Panda 4 has already become an audience hit. It is currently enjoying the highest audience score of any movie in the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes, having earned an 87 percent at the time of writing. The early reviews from critics have not been quite as positive, given the 70 percent Tomatometer score. The movie currently has the lowest Tomatometer score of any Kung Fu Panda movie. That is not, however, a mark of financial failure.

Financially, the Kung Fu Panda franchise has suffered a slight drop in notoriety since its height with Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2. The original boasted a $631.7 million overall take, while the sequel earned $665.7 million. Kung Fu Panda 3 suffered a decline, having earned a comparatively low $521.2 million. The franchise is still successful, but a return to box office domination was likely needed to keep Po's world alive. Kung Fu Panda 4 is providing that return.

The success of Kung Fu Panda 4's opening weekend marks a potential return to its original status, yet the overall box office impact is questionable. The box office numbers have not been adjusted for inflation. That means that the 2008 movie is still far ahead of Kung Fu Panda 4 when properly adjusted. The $58.3 million take is still impressive, however, as the box office has been struggling throughout the early months of 2024. The movie may not have had the hard-hitting debut of the original, but it is still somewhat of a return to form.

Source: Variety