The Big Picture

• Kung Fu Panda 4 reignites franchise with impressive box office success, surpassing predecessor globally.
• Despite lukewarm reviews, the film holds strong at the box office, nearing $600 million worldwide.
• Made on a lower budget compared to previous installments, Kung Fu Panda 4 follows Po on a new adventure.

It’s the sort of franchise resurrection that would make Godzilla and King Kong both proud; Kung Fu Panda 4 has successfully reignited interest in the animated series, eight years after the last installment concluded its run as the lowest-grossing film of the lot. This week, the hit sequel overtook its immediate predecessor, Kung Fu Panda 3, at the worldwide box office, having already surpassed it on the domestic front a few weeks ago. Despite having played in theaters for two months, the movie is far from done just yet, as it capitalizes on a lean period for family audiences ahead of The Garfield Movie later in May.

With $188 million domestically and another $336 million from overseas markets, Kung Fu Panda 4’s cumulative global gross stands at $525 million. By comparison, 2016’s Kung Fu Panda 3 concluded its run with $521 million worldwide. Kung Fu Panda 4 now trails the franchise’s first two films, which were both released over a decade ago. The original Kung Fu Panda — are you prepared to feel ancient? — is actually 16 years old now. Released in 2008, the film concluded its global run with $631 million. Kung Fu Panda 2 was released in 2011, and it remains the series’ biggest film with $664 million worldwide.

While Kung Fu Panda 4 will probably not be able to match, let alone overtake these films, it has a strong shot of hitting the $600 million mark worldwide before the end of its run. Animated movies tend to deliver huge multiples, as has been observed in the box office runs of recent films such as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and Elemental, which bounced back from a near-record low opening for Pixar but eventually grossed nearly $500 million globally. Kung Fu Panda 4 grossed $57 million in its first weekend at the domestic box office, finishing first. It held on to the number one spot in weekend two as well, and has still not dropped out of the top 10 even two months into its run.

The 'Kung Fu Panda' Series Has Grossed Over $2.3 Billion Worldwide

What makes Kung Fu Panda 4’s box office performance all the more admirable is the fact that it’s by far the cheapest installment of the series. While the previous movies all cost between $130 million and $150 million, Kung Fu Panda 4 was produced on a reported budget of $85 million. This is in line with post-pandemic animated movies such as Migration, The Bad Guys, and even The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Combined, the Kung Fu Panda film series has grossed over $2.3 billion worldwide. Designed to kick-start a new trilogy, Kung Fu Panda 4 follows the “Dragon Warrior” Po, voiced by Jack Black, on a mission to defeat a formidable new villain called The Chameleon, voiced by Viola Davis. He does this knowing that his days as the “Dragon Warrior” are numbered, and that he will have to hand over the mantle to a worthy successor.

Amid reports of behind-the-scenes conflict arising from director Mike Mitchell’s methods, reviews for Kung Fu Panda 4 were among the most lukewarm that the franchise has ever seen. It holds a 72% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with Collider’s Ross Bonaime writing in his review that Kung Fu Panda 4 proves “that there’s still plenty of juice left in these movies.” You can watch the film in theaters and at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.