With $58 million, “Kung Fu Panda 4” just delivered DreamWorks Animation its biggest opening weekend since 2012’s “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” ($60.3M). That’s not adjusted for inflation. But still — it’s very impressive. Where does “KFP4” rank on DreamWorks’ all-time opens list? And where does “Shrek 2” (which is returning to theaters on April 12th to celebrate its 20th Anniversary) show-up on the chart?
1) “SHREK THE THIRD” (2007) – $121.6 million
2) “SHREK 2” (2004) – $108 million
3) “SHREK FOREVER AFTER” (2010) – $70.8 million
4) “MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA” (2008) – $63.1 million
5) “MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED” (2012) – $60.3 million
6) “KUNG FU PANDA” (2008) – $60.2 million
7) “MONSTERS VS. ALIENS” (2009) – $59.3 million
8) “KUNG FU PANDA 4” (2024) – $58 million
9) “HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD” (2019) – $55 million
10) “HOME” (2015) – $52.1 million
“Kung Fu Panda 4” knocked 2017’s “The Boss Baby” ($50.2M) out of the Top 10. Right behind that is 2014’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2” ($49.5 million) and five films that debuted between $46M and $48M: 2004’s “Shark Tale”, 2005’s “Madagascar”, 2010’s “Megamind”, 2011’s “Kung Fu Panda 2” and 2016’s “Trolls”. Also in the $40M+ category are 2001’s “Shrek”, 2010’s “How to Train Your Dragon”, 2013’s “The Croods” and 2016’s “Kung Fu Panda 3”.
Last November “Trolls Band Together” joined the $30M+ opening weekend club, alongside 2006’s “Over the Hedge”, 2007’s “Bee Movie”, 2011’s “Puss in Boots” and 2014’s “Mr. Peabody & Sherman”. Between $20.6M and $25.5M are 2019’s “Abominable”, 2013’s “Turbo”, 2012’s “Rise of the Guardians”, 2017’s “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie”, 2022’s “The Bad Guys” and 2014’s “Penguins of Madagascar”.
I definitely think Universal and DreamWorks will greenlight “Kung Fu Panda 5”. In the meantime, “The Wild Robot”, starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, is set for a September theatrical release. And “Dog Man” will open next January. Long-rumored “Shrek 5” could be out in the next few years, and I could see that delivering a $100 million-plus opening weekend. It’s been 14 years since we all thought the “Shrek” franchise was over. You take into account inflation and maybe it makes a run at a $200M start.