Box Office: ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Bounds to $3.8M in Thursday Previews

March 8, 2024

Jack Black‘s Po is back after nearly a decade, and he’s already receiving a hero’s welcome from audiences.

Kung Fu Panda 4 started off its run on the big screen with $3.8 million in Thursday previews that commenced at 2 p.m., before officially opening everywhere Friday. The fourth film in the franchise is tipped to open to more than $50 million over Oscar weekend in a win the for the family marketplace, as well as DreamWorks and parent company Universal (the studio behind Academy Awards frontrunner Oppenheimer).

Along with Black, returning members of the voice cast include Dustin Hoffman as Kung Fu master Shifu, James Hong as Po’s adoptive father, Bryan Cranston as Po’s birth father Li, and Ian McShane as Shifu’s former student and archnemesis.

Series newcomers include Viola Davis as a tiny lizard and shapeshifting sorceress, and Awakawfina as a quick-witted thief whom Po needs to protect their world. Ke Huy Quan also joins the franchise.

Kung Fu Panda 4 is directed by Mike Mitchell, who also helmed Trolls and Shrek Forever After.

All eyes will be on Denis Villeneueve’s Dune: Part Two to see how it holds up in its second outing. The Legendary and Warner Bros. sci-fi epic opened to a stellar $82.5 million domestically and finished Thursday with a North American tally of more than $110 million and $200 million globally. Box office pundits believe Dune 2 could earn $40 million or so in its second outing.

Lionsgate and Blumhouse’s Imaginary also enters the mix, and earned $725,000 in Thursday previews. The original horror pic is hoping for an opening in the $10 million to $14 million. The story follows a young woman (DeWanda Wise) who moves back to her childhood home, where her youngest stepdaughter (Pyper Braun) develops an eerie attachment to a stuffed bear named Chauncey she finds in the basement. The film is directed by Jeff Wadlow, who also produces alongside Jason Blum.

In regards to Oscar-nominated films, many of the movies vying for top honors are already available in the home, but some could still see an uptick at the box office. And if Christopher Nolan and Universal’s Oppenheimer wins for best picture, it will make box office history in becoming the biggest-grossing move to win the prize since the final The Lord of the Rings in 2004. Oppeneheimer has earned nearly $960 million in worldwide ticket sales.

Adblock test (Why?)