‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ opens No. 1, while ‘Dune: Part Two’ stays strong

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — 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. That is according to estimates Sunday. “Kung Fu Panda 4” is the first film in the DreamWorks Animation franchise since the third installment in 2016. It got off to a better start than all but the 2008 original. 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.