China Box Office: ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Makes Soft Debut
By Patrick Frater, Asia Bureau Chief
‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ took first place at the mainland China box office in its first weekend of release, but its score was weak. The Universal-DreamWorks Animation picture earned $14.7 million (RMB105 million) between Friday and Sunday, making it one of the quietest weekends of the year for the market. With previews from the previous weekend, the film finished Sunday with $25.9 million (RMB184 million.)
Unlike the third iteration of the Chinese-themed American franchise, which was an official U.S.-China co-production, “Kung Fu Panda 4” is considered a foreign picture subject to import quotas and the associated revenue-sharing distribution regime.
Taiwanese crime film “The Pig, The Snake and the Pigeon” slipped to second place in the mainland China chart in its fourth weekend of release, earning $6.8 million (RMB48.5 million) for a cumulative total of $84.6 million since releasing on March 1.
Legendary East’s “Dune 2” added $4.6 million as it fell to third place in its third week of release in mainland China, with a cumulative total of $44.2 million after three weekends.
Upcoming release “Viva La Vida” placed fourth based on previews alone, ahead of its new official release date of March 30. It earned $3.6 million (RMB25.6 million) and has a cumulative total of $16.6 million (RMB118 million.)
“Remember Me” fell from third place to fifth and took $2.2 million over the weekend, with a cumulative total of $12.2 million after ten days on release.
Overall, the weekend box office in China was $39.5 million, with a running year-to-date score of $2.24 billion, calculated as 5% ahead of the same point in 2023.
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