DreamWorks Animation Sees Strong Global Debut For 'Kung Fu Panda 3'

Po's return to the box office proved fruitful for Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc DWA, and in turn for distribution partner Twenty-First Century Fox Inc FOXA, as "Kung Fu Panda 3" pounced over the competition.

"Panda 3" will end its debut weekend in the top slot across the United States with around $41 million in ticket sales, slightly higher than predictions. While that's lower than the $47 million earned by its predecessor and the $60 million pulled in by the original, the comparisons aren't truly fair.

Both previous "Panda" films opened in the summer where the box office is traditionally higher. DreamWorks Animation is also a different studio than it was back in 2011, and in many ways it has become a favorite target of attacks from Wall Street analysts.

Related Link: Fox's "Kung Fu Panda 3" Debutes With $116.7M Globally

DreamWorks And The Street

After a string of flops, the studio rejiggered its lineup cutting its output to one film in 2015, which in turn bumped "Panda 3" to 2016. Many insiders took shots at the company for the move, but found themselves eating crow when that lone entry, "Home," opened beyond expectations and set the stage for a DreamWorks comeback.

As a result, there were a lot of eyes on "Panda 3" to see if it could keep up the momentum. $41 million is the definition of solid for a film like this, but stateside results are only half the story.

In the overseas market, the film saw a $75 million haul from six territories. Of that, $58 million came from China alone, followed by $11 million from Korea.

"Panda 3" is unusual, as it was co-funded by both U.S. and Chinese investors, which makes it exempt from the limit on American films playing in the area. This means "Panda 3" does not count against the film quota on American films imposed by the Chinese government and can play for more than the allowed 30-day window. On top of that, it will be able to keep screening during the country's "blackout" period on U.S. films.

All in all, for a movie produced for around $130 million, this was a good start for the film, which was able to get a jump on the glut of films heading to theaters in February.