‘Kung Fu Panda 4′ tops box office with $58M opening, while ‘Dune: Part Two’ stays strong

nypost.com:

LOS ANGELES — As Universal Pictures prepared for a big night at the Academy Awards with “Oppenheimer,” the studio also celebrated the No.

1 debut of “Kung Fu Panda 4,” which collected $58.3 million in domestic theaters over the weekend, according to estimates Sunday.“Kung Fu Panda 4,” the first film in the DreamWorks Animation franchise since the third installment in 2016, got off to a better start than all but the 2008 original.

That “Kung Fu Panda,” which began the mystical adventures of Jack Black’s panda warrior Po, launched with $60.2 million.Working in favor of “Kung Fu Panda 4″: It’s the first big family movie since “Migration” and “Wonka” hit theaters in December. “Kung Fu Panda 4″ added $22 million internationally.The news was just as good for last week’s top film, “Dune: Part Two.” Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic sequel held strongly in its second week, dropping a modest 44%.

It grossed $46 million in its second week, bringing its domestic cumulative total to $157 million for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures.Riding strong reviews, great word-of-mouth and plenty of sand worms, “Dune: Part Two” appears well set up for a long theatrical run.