'Kung Fu Panda 4' Box Office: Jack Black Is Hollywood's Top Kid-Friendly Movie Star

From 'School of Rock' to 'Super Mario Bros.' the man who voices Po has miraculously remained a kid-friendly butts-in-seats draw for multiple generations

Universal’s Kung Fu Panda 4 kicked up $19.4 million on Friday, including $3.8 million in Thursday previews. Presuming it has a similar Fri-to-weekend multiplier as How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (a $57 million weekend from a $19 million Friday) in 2019, the $85 million fourquel should seize a $58 million Fri-Sun debut. Even if it wasn’t the first big kid-friendly toon since Migration last December and the last until Garfield in May, DreamWorks toons tend to be leggy, be they new classics (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish legging out to $187 million from a $26 million Wed-Sun launch, How To Train Your Dragon reaching $217 million from a $43 million debut) or merely fun (Trolls, Trolls Band Together, Bad Guys, Boss Baby, Croods and Home all earned 3.3-4.2x multipliers).  

Even with more kid competition (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Godzilla x Kong) closing out March, the fourth installment, and the first since 2016, could flirt with $200 million domestic as the first kid-friendly toon since Migration in December and the last until Garfield in May. It’ll score the second biggest “part four” animated launch behind Toy Story 4 ($120 million) in June 2019. It should pass Pixar’s Lightyear ($51 million in June 2022) as the third biggest Covid-era toon debut. That’s behind only Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ($121 million last June) and Universal’s Super Mario Bros. Movie ($146 million Fri-Sun/$204 million Wed-Sun last April). Two of these films star Jack Black. So, if it needs to be outright stated, Jack Black is an asses-in-seat movie star for kids’ flicks.