'Kung Fu Panda' Threequel Reigns Weekend, 'Star Wars' Nears $2 Billion

In China, Kung Fu Panda 3 scores the biggest animated opening of all time with $57 million; elsewhere, Natalie Portman’s long-delayed Western Jane Got a Gun is DOA as the Finest Hours and Fifty Shades of Black Sink.

By Pamela McClintock

Kung Fu Panda 3 easily topped the North American box office with an estimated $41 million debut, even while it came in on the lower of expectations for DreamWorks Animation and behind the $47.7 million launch of Kung Fu Panda 2 five years ago.

China was a different story, where Kung Fu Panda 3 opened to a spectacular $57 million over the weekend, the biggest launch of all time for an animated film (comparisons are tough, since movies open on different days). Panda was produced by DWA and Oriental DreamWorks, with backing from the China Film Group.

The movie is the first major U.S.-China co-production, as well as the first major Hollywood release to open simultaneously in North America and in the Middle Kingdom.

Kung Fu Panda 3 earned a total of $75 million internationally from a handful of markets, including China, for a global bow of $116 million. In China, Minions previously held the record for top animated opening with an eight-day haul of $50 million. Panda, opening Friday, accomplished the feat in three days. Korea turned in an outstanding $11 million, followed by Russia with $5.1 million.

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The family film, costing around $145 million to produce, earned an A CinemaScore in the U.S. DWA needs another solid swing after a string of high-profile misses that resulted in layoffs and a shakeup in leadership ranks. The company’s last film, Home, was a success, opening to $52.1 million domestically in March 2015 on its way to earning $386 million globally.

The voice cast of Kung Fu Panda 3 sees the return of franchise stars Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, and Seth Rogen, while Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2) shares directing duties with Alessandro Carloni. New additions to the voice cast include Bryan Cranston, Kate Hudson and J.K. Simmons.

This time out, Po (Black) reunites with his biological father (Cranston) and travels with him to join other pandas at a secret sanctuary, where he’s arranged to be married to Mei Mei (Hudson). But Po doesn’t fit in, and to make matters worse, he and his cohorts soon find themselves battling an evil spirit terrorizing all of China.

Elsewhere, the weekend’s other three new releases — Disney’s Coast Guard adventure-disaster film The Finest Hours, starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, Marlon Wayans’ parody Fifty Shades of Black and Natalie Portman’s long-delayed Western Jane Got a Gun encountered stormy waters.

The Finest Hours opened to roughly $10.1 million from 3,143 locations, a disappointing start considering it cost $70 million to produce. The Disney movie, earning an A- CinemaScore, came in No. 3 after Panda 3 and Fox and New Regency's The Revenant, which remains a potent player in its sixth weekend.

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Directed by Craig Gillespie, Finest Hours recounts the real-life story of the Coast Guard’s heroic efforts in 1952 to save the crew of two oil tankers sheared in two during a fierce storm off Cape Cod. Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger, John Ortiz, and Eric Bana also star in the film, which had trouble luring younger moviegoers; 60 percent of ticket buyers were over the age of 35, including 31 percent over the age of 50.

“These are softer results than we had hoped for. We’ve seen a string of movies based on real-life adventures have a hard time, such as The Walk, Everest and In the Heart of the Sea,” said Disney executive VP of distribution Dave Hollis. “We’re encouraged by the response of the people who have seen it, and it bodes well for the film’s international expansion.”

Fifty Shades of Black, spoofing Fifty Shades of Grey, came in No. 9 with an estimated $6.2 million from 2,075 theaters after earning a C CinemaScore. The good news: The parody cost a modest $5 million to make.

Marlon Wayans stars opposite Kali Hawk in Fifty Shades of Black, and teamed with IM Global in making the $5 million parody. IM Global and Wayans previously partnered on the spoof A Haunted House, which debuted to a pleasing $18 million.

Gavin O'Connor's Jane Got a Gun, starring Portman opposite Joel Edgerton and Ewan McGregor, found itself quickly run out out of town. The $25 million film has a much smaller footprint than the other new movies, playing in just 1,210 theaters, but grossed a dismal $830,000 — by far the worst showing of Portman’s career.

The Weinstein Co. is releasing Jane Got a Gun via a service deal on behalf of the producers, who pulled the film from Relativity Media last summer as Relativity faced bankruptcy. The producers, which include attorney David Boies, paid for marketing.

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The Metropolitan Opera's The Met: Live in HD live broadcast on Saturday outgunned Jane, earning $2.5 million from 900 screens. The offering was Puccini’s popular Turandot.

Back on the top 10 chart, Alejandro G. Inarritu’s awards frontrunner The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, grossed $12.4 million for a domestic total of $138.2 million.

Fellow Oscar best picture contender The Big Short crossed the $100 million mark at the global box office over the weekend, finishing Sunday with $60.9 million domestically and $41.8 million overseas.

Disney and Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The Force Awakens came in No. 4 with an estimated $10.8 million as it approaches the $900 million mark in North America and $2 billion globally. The movie’s domestic total through Sunday is $895.4 million; worldwide, it’s cume is $1.983 billion.

Most movies saw narrow drops from last weekend, when winter storm Jonas forced hundreds of theaters to close on the East Coast, dampening grosses. That includes supernatural horror film The Boy, which dipped 27 percent in its second weekend to $7.9 million fro a domestic total of $21.5 million. STX Entertainment says the film, coming in No. 6, is a win considering its cost $10 million to make.

Dirty Grandpa, also in its second weekend, fell 32 percent to $7.6 million for a domestic cume of $22.8 million. Lionsgate is releasing the R-rated comedy, starring Robert De Niro and Zac Efron.

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