Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s latest release, “Kung Fu Panda 4,” has officially joined the exclusive club of animated films surpassing half a billion dollars in global box office receipts, with a total now standing at $503.5 million. This milestone makes it the fifth animated feature to achieve such success since the onset of the pandemic, following in the footsteps of “Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train,” “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
Directed by Mike Mitchell, “Kung Fu Panda 4” is the latest triumph for Universal, which now boasts ownership of three out of the five top-grossing animated films of the last five years. In its eighth weekend in the U.S., the film garnered $3.5 million, securing seventh place at the box office. Domestically, it has earned a total of $185 million. The international markets added another $11.6 million last weekend, boosting its overseas gross to $318.5 million. The top international earners for the film include China with $48.5 million, Mexico with $35.2 million, the U.K. with $24.4 million, Germany with $15.8 million, and Australia with $14.7 million.
The Kung Fu Panda series has been a consistent performer for DreamWorks, with the four films collectively amassing over $2.3 billion worldwide, positioning it among the top 10 theatrical animation franchises of all time.
In addition to “Kung Fu Panda 4,” DreamWorks is celebrating the 20th anniversary of “Shrek 2” with a re-release in U.S. theaters, which has already brought in $3.3 million. This figure is notable as it nearly matches the combined total of the three recent Disney-Pixar theatrical releases: “Soul,” “Turning Red,” and “Luca.”
Meanwhile, in Japan, “Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram,” the 27th film in the long-standing series, continues to perform strongly. In its third weekend, it added $7.8 million to a total of $55.6 million. The previous installment, “Black Iron Submarine,” holds the record as the franchise’s highest earner in Japan with just under $90 million.
“Kung Fu Panda 4’s” impressive performance underscores the ongoing appeal of high-quality animated features and their ability to draw significant audiences worldwide, particularly in a post-pandemic landscape.