Big Bear: How DreamWorks Animation & Universal’s ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Is Kicking It With $500M+ Global Box Office

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” reigned over the weekend box office with a $56.5 million North American opening, according to studio estimates Sunday, giving a needed surge to an uncertain season in theaters.The film from 20th Century Studios and Disney that built on the rebooted “Apes” trilogy of the 2010s had the third highest opening of the year, after the $81.5 million debut of “Dune: Part Two” in early March and the $58.3 million domestic opening of “Kung Fu Panda 4” a week later.The strong performance for “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” comes a week after a tepid start for Ryan Gosling’s “The Fall Guy” signaled that the summer of 2024 is likely to see a major drop-off after the “Barbenheimer” magic of 2023.“Planet of the Apes” easily made more than the rest of the top 10 combined.“The Fall Guy” fell to No. 2 with a $13.7 million weekend and a two-week total of $49.7 million for Universal Pictures.Zendaya’s “Challengers” was third with $4.7 million and has earned $38 million in three weeks for Amazon MGM studios.The opening for “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” directed by Wes Ball, was the second best in the series, after the $72 million opening weekend of 2014’s “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”It’s the 10th movie in the “Planet of the Apes” franchise that began in 1968.“Kingdom” came with strong reviews and positive buzz (80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and a “B” CinemaScore).

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” climbed to $72.5 million at the international box office in its first weekend of release. The newest film in the long-running “Apes” series also notched No. 1 in North America with $56.5 million, bringing its initial global tally to a promising $129 million.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Primates ruled over the North American box office as “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” collected $56.5 million in its first weekend of release. Those ticket sales were a hair above early projections of $50 million to $55 million and were easily enough to tower over the nonexistent competition.

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is beating its chest towards a $125M global bow this weekend. At the international box office, we understand the Wes Ball-directed installment is at around $31M through Friday. As Anthony has reported, domestic is looking at a $52M-$55M start for the full frame.

The highly anticipated clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is finally on the horizon.Originally scheduled for earlier this year, Saturday, May 18 is now the date the two giants of boxing will lock horns. It's been over two decades since the heavyweight division witnessed a unified world champion, with Lennox Lewis holding that distinction back in 1999 and boxing fans will now get to see another holder of all four belts.Now, with Fury and Usyk set to collide in a major undisputed fight, the excitement among boxing enthusiasts, both casual and die-hard, is palpable in the lead-up to the huge night which is taking place in Saudi Arabia. In an interesting turn of events, there's been an inclusion of a rematch clause which ensures that, regardless of the outcome, Fury and Usyk will cross paths once again, hinting at the potential for a compelling series between the two.

The great Broadway Crunch of Spring 2024, when 18 new productions opened between mid-March and late April – 19 if you count the commercial transfer of Appropriate – seems to be showing early signs of the inevitable shake-out, with one show (Lempicka) closing soon and a few others already playing to houses with attendance at 80% of capacity or less.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “The Fall Guy” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.5 million ($4.5 million), according to numbers from Comscore. But the force was strong with Disney’s 25th anniversary rerelease of “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” as it debuted in second place with £1.1 million.

EXCLUSIVE: Story Kitchen & DreamWorks Animation have formed a strategic partnership with Story Kitchen cementing an animated film first-look. Story Kitchen’s focus will be in securing exciting, iconic, Videogame IP for DWA to adapt for global animated audiences. Story Kitchen is currently in a TV first-look with Amazon.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter “The Fall Guy,” an action-comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, kicked off the summer movie season without much sizzle. The film, backed by Universal and directed by David Leitch, fell just short of expectations with $28.5 million from 4,002 North American venues in its debut. Heading into the weekend, “The Fall Guy” was projected to earn at least $30 million to $40 million.

We’re already in the fifth month of 2024, but new data about the 2023 box office is still coming in and we’ve learned some interesting things!

Challengers is No. 1!

Refresh for latest…: Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 has topped the half-century mark globally, now with $503.5M worldwide. Of that, $318.5M is from the international box office. Passing $500M makes KFP4, directed by Mike Mitchell (and co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stine), only the fourth animated title to the benchmark since 2020, joining Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie ($1.4B) and Minions: The Rise of Gru ($943M), and Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($691M).

Brent Lang Executive Editor Game, set, and now what to make of this match? “Challengers,” a sexy, subversive, R-rated drama set in the world of tennis, easily took first place at a sluggish domestic box office this weekend with a so-so $15.2 million. On the one hand, it’s a respectable result for an artsy movie aimed at discerning, adult audiences, but what keeps it from being a championship performance is the fact that “Challengers” has a hefty $55 million budget (to say nothing of its marketing costs).

Brent Lang Executive Editor A pair of Warner Bros. releases have achieved some important box office milestones. “Dune: Part Two,” the acclaimed adaptation of Frank Herbert’s monumental sci-fi novel, has passed $700 million worldwide, while “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the latest installment in the long-running monster franchise, eclipsed $500 million at the global box office.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix‘s new feature Boss Dan Lin has tapped former DreamWorks Animation and Coyote Vs. Acme producer Chris deFaria to consult for the streamer’s animation department, we hear on very good authority.

Universal Pictures will release DreamWorks Animation‘s Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie for Sept. 26, 2025. The studio already had the release date on hold for an untitled DWA movie. Late September is a prime time to launch family animated pics, going back to Open Season and Cloudy With a Chance for Meatballs, among others including DreamWorks Animation’s own Abominable.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter AMC Theatres, the world’s largest cinema chain, is leaning into distribution. The company is expanding its distribution team with a key hire and promotion, underscoring its committment to releasing its own movies in addition to showcasing titles from traditional and independent studios. AMC Theatres launched its distribution team with the premieres of last year’s concert films, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” and “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.” Stephanie Terifay has joined AMC in the newly created position of VP of Distribution.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Game, set… but there’s not much of a match. “Challengers,” a steamy tennis drama starring Zendaya and directed by Luca Guadagnino, is poised to lead the domestic box office without much in the way of competition. The film, from Amazon MGM, is projected to collect $12 million to $15 million from 3,400 North American theaters in its opening weekend.

DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot will now go on Sept. 27 instead of Sept. 20.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ retained its lead at the top of the South Korean box office on what was the quietest cinema-going weekend in more than a year. The animated franchise movie held up reasonably. It maintained a nearly 44% market share, dropped only 32% week-on-week and was untroubled by competition from new releases. The film earned $1.91 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).