Kung Fu Panda 4 opened way beyond expectations, while Dune: Part Two had the best second weekend hold since Barbenheimer.
Hollywood has two reasons to celebrate today, with one of them being the fact that it’s Oscar Sunday. However, the more important reason is no doubt the fact that after a sluggish start to the year, the box office is finally picking up, with the top two movies this weekend overperforming significantly. Even the most optimistic box office forecasters didn’t see Kung Fu Panda 4 opening north of $50 million (we had it pegged at $48 million), but the movie ended up rallying to a massive $58 million weekend. While that’s not much compared to the last Jack Black animated film (The Super Mario Bros. Movie), it’s worth noting that the Kung Fu Panda franchise was widely thought to have run out of gas some time ago. The last two Kung Fu Panda movies only made $47 and $41 million on their opening weekends, thus giving the franchise its biggest start since the first movie in 2008, which opened with $60.2 million.
However, this weekend’s big news is Dune: Part Two’s amazing hold, with it posting the smallest second-weekend decline since this summer’s Barbenheimer phenomenon. Yesterday, the trades figured the film would make about $44 million this weekend, but in the end, just like last week, the movie had a stronger-than-expected Saturday. It now stands at $46 million for the second weekend, posting a 44% week-to-week decline, which is amazing for a tentpole blockbuster. Typically, if a movie like this is well-reviewed or liked, it would drop in the 50’s, while a 60-ish decline is the norm. That “A” CinemaScore rating is working wonders, with word-of-mouth on this one making a $300 million domestic finish possible.
Meanwhile, Blumhouse’s Imaginary exceeded expectations, making $10 million for the weekend. That’s not a bad finish, given the poor reviews, although it will likely sink like a stone next weekend. In fourth place is Angel Studios’ Cabrini, which had a much better weekend than expected, with a north of $7.5 million opening. While that’s a far cry from director Alejandro Monteverde’s last film, Sound of Freedom, Cabrini didn’t have the same mainstream hook that movie did. Given that this is a period piece about the first American citizen canonized as a Saint by the Catholic Church, this is a pretty solid opening. It should play well over the upcoming Easter holiday.
Bob Marley: One Love, which dominated the box office throughout February, made just over $4 million this weekend, with an $89 million domestic total. A $100 million finish looks like it might be in the cards for this well-liked biopic. On the other hand, the faith-based Ordinary Angels struggled to find an audience, only making $2 million for the weekend, with a $16 million domestic total. That’s low for a Christian movie with two solid stars, Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson.
However, of all the movies on the list, the biggest cautionary tale continues to be Sony’s Marvel flick, Madame Web, which only made $1.125 million this weekend and only has a $42 million domestic total so far. There’s no way this one manages a finish of over $45 million. This movie is so bad that even its star, Dakota Johnson, says so.
Illumination’s Migration is on the lower end of the chart, which is wrapping up its run with a $1.1 million weekend for a $125 million domestic total, which is low for this animated studio. The 9th and 10th spots were taken by specialty releases. The Chinese comedy YOLO opened in 9th place with $840,000, while the MET Opera special run of La Forza del Destino made $768,000 in the 10th spot.
Next weekend seems like it’ll be a quiet one, with the only major releases being the Kristen Stewart pulp thriller Love Lies Bleeding and the Mark Wahlberg movie Arthur the King, which has gotten a pretty mild advertising campaign despite the fact it not only stars Wahlberg but also Simu Liu and a lovable dog. Go figure. It looks possible that Dune: Part Two could even retake the top spot if Kung Fu Panda 4 has a modest hold.
Did you go see anything this weekend? Let us know in the comments!