Although several films have struggled at the US box office in 2024, Kung Fu Panda 4 has achieved the strongest opening day for the series since the original in 2008.
The animated comedy pulled in $19.4 million during its opening day and Thursday night preview screenings from 4,035 theaters. For comparison, the original film made $20 million from its premiere, which isn't too far ahead of the fourth film. Kung Fu Panda 4 is predicted to gross $55 million by the end of its opening weekend.
Expected to place in second this weekend is Dune: Part Two. The sci-fi sequel made $12.3 million on Friday, which is down 62% when compared to its opening last week. The film has now already surpassed the $108 million that the original made at the US box office and is sitting at $223.3 million worldwide.
In third is a another newcomer this week, Lionsgate's latest horror Imaginary. Despite some very negative reviews, the film managed to gross $3.6 million on opening day from 3,118 locations. Its expected to gross $10 million over the weekend, which is almost enough to recoup its entire production budget of $10-12 million.