‘Kung Fu Panda 3′ Scores Biggest Animated Film Opening in China

Placing fourth was the new rescue thriller, The Finest Hours, with $10-million. Jack Black returns as the voice of Po along with Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and David Cross voicing the furious five.

Directed once again by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, this time with Alessandro Carloni, the new Kung Fu Panda film sees the roundhouse-kicking bear meet his birth family for the first time, as well as graduating to become a teacher of martial arts.

From CNN and other foreign media’s views, DreamWork Animation, producer of the series of Kung Fu Panda films, is making a big bet on Chinese moviegoers since there seem to be significant demand for the U.S. Blockbusters.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Revenant won the frame with only US$16m in its third weekend of wide release.

Its first day total already compares favorably against the 116.6 million yuan earned by Universal/Illumination’s Minions last September at a launch which included midnight screenings.

Kung Fu Panda 3 is only the second new movie of the month to land number one along with Ride Along 2 which held the position for one weekend two weeks ago.

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.

In addition to opening at the No. 1 spot in the US with an estimated $41 million (breaking the January opening record), Kung Fu Panda 3’s day-and-date release in China and other key overseas markets has brought in an additional $75.7 million in global box office takings. The movie’s domestic total through Sunday is a projected $895 million.

Marlon Wayans’ spoof of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey opened to $6.2 million in 2,982 locations, earning a C CinemaScore. The IMAX screenings alone (289 theaters) brought in $4.2 million for the CG sequel.