Universal’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” held on to the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend without any challenge from a handful of new releases, but the gap between it and Warner Bros./Legendary’s “Dune: Part Two” is quite narrow.
In its second weekend, “Kung Fu Panda 4” is currently estimated to earn $31.5 million, dropping just 46% from its $57.9 million start. Fueled by families who haven’t had an animated movie to see in theaters since “Migration” during the holidays, as well as by some nostalgic millennials who grew up seeing the first “Kung Fu Panda” back in 2008, this DreamWorks sequel is set to blow past $100 million in domestic grosses by the end of the weekend.
“Dune: Part Two,” meanwhile, is just behind “Kung Fu Panda 4” with an industry-estimated third weekend total of $28.5 million. That’s another strong hold as it drops just 34% from its second weekend.
The acclaimed Denis Villeneuve film may take a steeper drop next weekend as it will lose IMAX and other premium formats to Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” but will have surpassed $200 million in domestic grosses by the end of this weekend. Three of the last four films to pass that mark have been Warner Bros. releases, with the others being “Wonka” and “Barbie,” while the fourth went to former WBD director Christopher Nolan with Universal’s Best Picture winner “Oppenheimer.”
The sole newcomer to the top 5 is Lionsgate’s “Arthur the King,” a true-story inspirational film starring Mark Wahlberg as an adventure racer who befriends a wounded dog during a grueling competition in the Dominican Republic. The film earned $3 million from 3,003 theaters and is set to earn an opening weekend of $7-8 million against a $20 million budget.
Similar to Channing Tatum’s 2022 film “Dog,” “Arthur the King” is hoping to leg out among an older, female-skewing audience subset that shows up to inspirational films — particularly ones involving animals. While critics were only mildly positive with a 64% Rotten Tomatoes score, the film earned an A from opening night crowds on CinemaScore.
