It’s the sort of franchise resurrection that would make Godzilla and King Kong both proud;Kung Fu Panda 4has successfully reignited interest in the animated series, eight years after the last installment concluded its run as the lowest-grossing film of the lot. This week, thehit sequel overtook its immediate predecessor,Kung Fu Panda 3, at the worldwide box office, having already surpassed it on the domestic front a few weeks ago. Despite having played in theaters for two months, the movie is far from done just yet, as it capitalizes on a lean period for family audiences ahead ofThe Garfield Movielater in May.
With $188 million domestically and another $336 million from overseas markets,Kung Fu Panda 4’scumulative global gross stands at $525 million. By comparison, 2016’sKung Fu Panda 3concluded its run with $521 million worldwide.Kung Fu Panda 4now trails the franchise’s first two films, which were both released over a decade ago. The originalKung Fu Panda— are you prepared to feel ancient? — is actually 16 years old now. Released in 2008, the film concluded its global run with $631 million.Kung Fu Panda 2was released in 2011, and it remains the series’ biggest film with $664 million worldwide.
WhileKung Fu Panda 4will probably not be able to match, let alone overtake these films, it has astrong shot of hitting the $600 million mark worldwidebefore the end of its run. Animated movies tend to deliver huge multiples, as has been observed in the box office runs of recent films such asPuss in Boots: The Last Wish, andElemental, which bounced back from a near-record low opening for Pixar but eventually grossed nearly $500 million globally.Kung Fu Panda 4grossed $57 million in its first weekend at the domestic box office, finishing first. It held on to the number one spot in weekend two as well, and has still not dropped out of the top 10 even two months into its run.
The ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Series Has Grossed Over $2.3 Billion Worldwide
What makesKung Fu Panda 4’s box office performance all the more admirable is the fact that it’s by farthe cheapest installment of the series. While the previous movies all cost between $130 million and $150 million,Kung Fu Panda 4wasproduced on a reported budget of $85 million. This is in line with post-pandemic animated movies such asMigration,The Bad Guys, and evenThe Super Mario Bros. Movie. Combined, the Kung Fu Panda film series has grossed over $2.3 billion worldwide. Designed to kick-start a new trilogy,Kung Fu Panda 4follows the “Dragon Warrior” Po, voiced byJack Black, on a mission to defeat a formidable new villain called The Chameleon, voiced byViola Davis. He does this knowing that his days as the “Dragon Warrior” are numbered, and that he will have to hand over the mantle to a worthy successor.
Amidreports of behind-the-scenes conflictarising from directorMike Mitchell’s methods, reviews forKung Fu Panda 4were among the most lukewarm that the franchise has ever seen. It holdsa 72% approval ratingon the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, with Collider’sRoss Bonaimewriting inhis reviewthatKung Fu Panda 4proves “that there’s still plenty of juice left in these movies.” you may watch the film in theaters and at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Kung Fu Panda 4
After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, while a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.
