Box Office: ‘Kung Fu Panda 4,’ ‘Dune 2’ Lead Weekend as New Entries Lack Bite

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Mark Wahlberg-starrer ‘Arthur the King’ is opening on the low end of expectations, while specialty satirical comedy ‘The American Society of Magical Negroes’ is struggling badly.

‘Kung Fu Panda 4,’ ‘Dune: Part 2.’

DreamWorks Animation; Warner Bros

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Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two are still going strong at the box office, with both movies celebrating milestones this weekend.

From DreamWorks Animation and Universal, the Jack Black-voiced Kung Fu 4 is expected to top the chart with an estimated $31.5 million-plus from 4,067 theaters as it leaps past the $100 million mark to finish Sunday with a pleasing 10-day domestic total of roughly $109.4 million, based on Friday and early Saturday grosses (numbers for all films could shift by Sunday). The pic is looking at a respectable decline of 46 percent.

Not far behind is Denis Villeneuve’s Dune 2, now in its third weekend. The Legendary-Warner Bros tentpole is the first release of 2024 to clear $200 million domestically. The pic is expected to gross around $29 million from 3,847 cinemas for the weekend, putting its North American cume north of $205 million through Sunday.

New offerings this weekend include feel-good canine adventure drama Arthur the King, featuring an ensemble cast led by Mark Wahlberg. The Lionsgate and eOne film is opening on the low end of expectations with around $8 million from 3,003 cinemas. Tracking had suggested $10 million or more, but the film’s backers believe an A CinemaScore from audiences will result in long legs.

Simu Liu, Juliet Rylance, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ali Suliman, Paul Guilfoyle, and real-life adventure racer and TV host Bear Grylls, who plays himself, round out the cast. The film follows a pro adventure racer (Wahlberg) who forms an unbreakable bond with a dog named Arthur after he and his team travel 435 miles over 10 days.

Arthur the King

Carlos Rodriguez/Lionsgate

Lionsgate is also taking the fourth spot on the chart with Blumhouse’s supernatural horror pic Imaginary, which is on course to gross $5.2 million or from 3,118 cinemas in its sophomore outing for a 10-day cume of $18.1 million. The film’s decline is a scant 42 percent.

Coming in No. 5 is Angel Studio’s faith-themed Cabrini, which is falling off a steep 62 percent in its second weekend. The biographical drama about a real-life 18th-century Catholic missionary is on course to gross an estimated $2.7 million from 2,850 theaters for a 10-day domestic tally of $12 million. Angel Studios is also home to Monteverde’s 2023 surprise blockbuster and cultural sensation Sound of Freedom.

The forecast is even worse for Focus Features’ The American Society of Magical Negroes, the weekend’s other new wide offering after Arthur the King. The specialty film is expected to place No. 14 with an estimated $1.25 million from 1,143 theaters. It tells the tale of a young man who was recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people’s lives easier.

Justice Smith and David Alan Grier appear in The American Society of Magical Negroes.

Tobin Yelland/Focus Features/Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Directed by Kobi Libii, American Society of Magical Negroes stars Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver, Michaela Watkins, Rupert Friend and Nicole Byer.

Focus can take solace in last weekend’s Oscars support for The Holdovers. The Alexander Payne-directed movie was up for multiple top awards, including best picture, with Da’Vine Joy Randolph winning for best supporting actress.

Among other top award contenders, Oppenheimer‘s Oscars sweep prompted Warners to rerelease Christopher Nolan’s movie in more than 1,300 theaters domestically. Rereleases don’t generally generate huge grosses — exceptions include Avatar — and Oppenheimer looks to earn roughly $333K for the weekend. The film, readily available to stream on Peacock and Max, is the top-grossing best picture Oscar winner in 20 years after amassing nearly $959 million at the global box office. It’s unlikely, however, that it will be able to clear $1 billion even with this rerelease.

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