‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ tops box office for second straight weekend while ‘Dune: Part Two’ stays strong
“Kung Fu Panda 4 ” stayed at the top of the North American box office in its second weekend in theaters. The Universal and DreamWorks Animation movie earned $30 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.The franchise featuring the voice of Jack Black is responsible for over $1.9 billion at the box office since it launched in 2008 and spawned several animated series, shorts, video games and a holiday special.
The fourth installment, playing in 4,067 locations in North America, has already made $107.7 million domestically.There were several new movies arriving in over 1,000 theaters (or expanding) this weekend, including Lionsgate’s Mark Wahlberg dog movie “Arthur the King,” Focus Features’ comedic satire “The American Society of Magical Negroes” and A24’s Kristen Stewart-led bodybuilding thriller “Love Lies Bleeding.”But the charts still belonged to the franchises, including “Dune: Part Two,” which came in a very close second in its third weekend, with $29.1 million.
That’s down only 37% from last weekend. It’s now made $205.3 million domestically.The first film, which was released simultaneously in theaters and on streaming, capped out at around $435 million globally, while “Part Two” is already at almost $500 million worldwide.“Arthur the King” did the best of the newcomers, landing in third place with $7.5 million from 3,003 locations.
The studio went into the weekend expecting something in the $8 million to $10 million range.Its low production cost and international presales should yield profits.Directed by Simon Cellan Jones and written by Michael Brandt, the movie is based on the true story of an adventure racer who befriends a stray dog on a perilous 435-mile trek in the Dominican Republic.
