Newcomer “The Finest Hours” enters the chart at No. 4 with an estimated $10.3 million, while “Ride Along 2” rounds out the top five with approximately $8.3 million.
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Prospects are bright for China, given its status as a local co-production, which means it’s not part of the 34-title annual quota for US films. Leonardo DiCaprio’s “The Revenant” won the frame with only $16 million in its third weekend of wide release.
Opening on the same day as the US, Kung Fu Panda 3 earned nearly US$16m more at the Chinese box office, with the total expected to increase during the 15-day Spring Festival, which begins on February 7.
Back in 2010, DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg revealed there are six chapters in the Kung Fu Panda movie series.
In other weekend debuts, Fifty Shades of Black fell on its face and could only muster a mere $6.2 million. It also broke the record for largest animated movie opening ever in China, where it made $57 million.
Marlon Wayans stars opposite Kali Hawk in Fifty Shades of Black, and teamed with IM Global in making the $5 million parody.
Gavin O’Connor’s Jane Got a Gun, starring Portman opposite Joel Edgerton and Ewan McGregor, found itself quickly run out out of town. That film opened in May that year, rather than January. Thanks to a hold over of strong performers from 2015, new movies have had a hard time breaking into the top three, much less the number on spot. Those producers include attorney David Boies, a big fan of Westerns. It finished the weekend with US$12.4 million at 3,330 sites for a 25 per cent decline and has now generated an impressive US$138.2 million domestically. Since opening over Martin Luther King weekend, the Ice Cube and Kevin Hart-starring sequel has earned a domestic total of $70.8 million.
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Most movies saw narrow drops from last weekend, when winter storm Jonas forced hundreds of theaters to close on the East Coast.
