‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Global Box Office Keeps Fighting Despite Digital Release

The Big Picture

• Kung Fu Panda 4
  has passed $480 million at the global box office.
• Despite being available on Digital,
  Kung Fu Panda 4
  has passed $300 million at the international box office.
• Kung Fu Panda 4
  is still the lowest-grossing film in the franchise, worldwide.

Digital debuts typically don’t affect animated movies at the box office, and the trend was observed once again this weekend with Universal’s release of DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda 4. The movie showed some strong legs as it entered its eighth week of release, as it passed an important milestone at the worldwide box office. This weekend, Kung Fu Panda 4 shot past the $300 million mark in overseas markets, while closing the gap between itself and Kung Fu Panda 3 at the global box office.

With $179 million domestically and another $300 million from international markets, the film’s cumulative global gross now stands at roughly $480 million. Curiously, the animated sequel is practically mimicking the performance of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empirewhich has generated similar totals as well, albeit in fewer days. But unlike the MonsterVerse movie, the animated hit is available to rent and purchase on digital platforms. Despite that, it grossed around $20 million worldwide this weekend.

Kung Fu Panda 4 remains the series’ second-biggest film domesticallyand the fourth-biggest globally. It trails the first Kung Fu Panda’s $215 million lifetime haul at the domestic box office, and will next set its sights on passing Kung Fu Panda 3’s $520 million global haul. The series’ top-grossing installments remain Kung Fu Panda ($630 million) and Kung Fu Panda 2 ($664 million). Launched in 2008 in the wake of smash-hit series such as Shrek and Madagascar, the Kung Fu Panda franchise has generated nearly $2.3 billion worldwide so far.

The ‘Kung Fu Panda’ Franchise Has Grossed Nearly $2.3 Billion Worldwide

Kung Fu Panda 4 is currently the sixth-biggest Hollywood animated movie of the post-pandemic eraand will overtake fellow DreamWorks hit Puss in Boots: The Last Wish in a matter of days. By next weekend, it should be able to pass Pixar’s Elemental to become the fourth-biggest Hollywood animated film of the post-pandemic era. And it has done this despite lukewarm reviews — it’s the series’ lowest-rated installment according to Rotten Tomatoes — and an unusually low budget. Kung Fu Panda 4 reportedly cost around $85 million to produce, while previous installments were produced on budgets ranging from $130 million to $150 million.

Featuring the voice of Jack Black as the “Dragon Warrior” Po, the movie also features the voices of Awkwafina, You are Huy Kwan, Bryan Cranston, Ian McShane, James Hong, Dustin Hoffman, and Viola Davis. Directed by Mike Mitchell, Kung Fu Panda 4 is designed to start a new trilogy of films and is available to watch at home and in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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