Kung Fu Panda 3 had a huge opening weekend in China, both setting the record for the nation's best-opening animated film and surpassing the movie's U.S. opening that same weekend.
The third installment in the blockbuster franchise from DreamWorks Animation drew $57 million in China, unseating Minions -- which previously took in $50 million in its first eight days.
At the U.S. box office, the movie showed plenty of punch as well, earning $41 million -- a total that means it was nearly as well-received as Kung Fu Panda 2, which made $47.7 million its first weekend in 2011, according to Reuters.
That sound you hear is Oscar buzz for @AlRoker & me as panda cousins "Dim" & "Sum" in "Kung Fu Panda 3", out today! pic.twitter.com/QO0VbSU9Cc— Willie Geist (@WillieGeist) January 29, 2016
Although the series' first two installments were solely made in Hollywood, the Kung Fu Panda movies have always done well in China. In 2011, Kung Fu Panda 2 pulled in 125 million yuan ($18.9 million) in its opening weekend -- a record at the time for China -- before going on to make $92 million total.
The first movie in the franchise earned $26 million in China during its entire run in 2008.
This time, Kung Fu Panda 3 is on track for a better run than its predecessors, simply because it'll have more time in theaters. The third movie is a co-production between DreamWorks and its Chinese spin-off, Oriental DreamWorks, so it qualifies as a local production -- and therefore will be allowed to play for longer than the 30-day restriction on foreign films.
World-famous pianist Lang Lang played the piano score for the film:
Behind-the-scenes recording on the #KungFuPanda 3 soundtrack in the studio with @RealHansZimmer https://t.co/wWYN3t3Z6s— Lang Lang (@lang_lang) January 30, 2016
Chinese netizens who caught the movie over the weekend mostly praised its visual effects, although several said they didn't like the new film's plot.
This user says: "Although the story is far-fetched, it's nice. It's visually gorgeous, and features beautiful Chinese designs. It was worth watching at the cinema."
This user says: "They were out to earn Chinese money, but I'll never watch this again because the movie has changed from a kung fu film to a fantasy one."
Meanwhile, this poster believes "it doesn't matter whether the film is produced by China. It's enough that it's able to portray Chinese culture."
