Kung Fu Panda doing well!
So far it looks like a good opening for Angelina Jolie’s animated movie Kung Fu Panda which opened in many theaters this weekend.
Rotten Tomatoes has given it an 85% which is pretty impressive because that site is RUTHLESS with their reviews. The site’s overall consensus was “Kung Fu Panda has a familiar message, but the pleasing mix of humor, swift martial arts action, and colorful animation makes for winning Summer entertainment.”
Meanwhile, Fantasy Moguls has declared that Kung Fu Panda has already collected $23.4 million on its second day, and there’s still Sunday to add - they estimate a probable $60.95 million which is better than they expected, and very good for an animated children’s movie. The only animated movies that beat that amount were The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc. (all of which are staples in this household, as I’m sure Kung Fu Panda will be as well).
It’s good to hear that it’s doing so well. Even though Angelina Jolie wasn’t at the American premiere for the movie, I’m sure people are keeping her up to date on how her movie is doing, so I’m sure she’s very pleased.
(Thanks Ligaya, for the heads’ up)
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POSTED IN: Angelina Jolie, Movies
31 opinions for Kung Fu Panda doing well!
Cynthia
Jun 8, 2008 at 9:46 am
Laura would do well to take note of what she, herself, has hanging around her own neck ( have heard it represents ‘blood’). Sorta thought it represented the character of a man as well. Viewing this ripping session out of Laura’s mouth left me with the strong impression of overhearing junior high adolescents and all the emotional baggage attached. (certainly didn’t have any likeness to the character of a man representing the cross hanging around Laura’s neck)
….ah…’should be thinking of the twins instead of’…did I possibly hear it wrong???… ‘her other children’????
charlie
Jun 8, 2008 at 9:55 am
Knowing Jolie’s alway been upfront, Il bet it was a relief that the cat was out of the bag. It’s hard for the people who speak their mind not to tell the truth.
Mary Ann
Jun 8, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Taking my grandkids to see this movie this week. I am sure they will love it.
ligaya
Jun 8, 2008 at 12:44 pm
TOP STORY – Variety Box Office
‘Kung Fu Panda’ wins B.O. battle
Animated feature nabs $60 million
By Pamela McClintock
Turns out you don’t mess with a panda who knows kung fu.
DreamWorks Animation and Paramount’s “Kung Fu Panda” easily won the weekend box office, grossing an estimated $60 million from 4,114 theaters and delivering the best opening ever for a DreamWorks Animation original pic. Only toon to have opened higher was “Shrek the Third” ($121.6 million).
Some had expected a closer contest between “Zohan” and “Panda,” but “Panda”–toplining the voice of Jack Black–far exceeded expectations.
susie
Jun 8, 2008 at 1:23 pm
KFP is getting excellent reviews and besides seeing it at the theater, I’ll also buy the DVD even tho I have no little ones around. Another one for my JP DVD collection!!
Gel
Jun 8, 2008 at 1:40 pm
I went to see it with my boyfriend yesterday, and it was an incredibly funny movie! My boyfriend and I were still laughing hours later talking about our favorite scenes from the movie. You should all take your kids to watch it. Besides the fun and excitement, the movie also shares a few life lessons, including believing in oneself and the value of humility.
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. I always enjoy reading your writings.
Gel
Jun 8, 2008 at 1:44 pm
The “Don’t mess with the Zohan” movie was a incredibly huge disappointment for me. I was honestly grossed out and disgusted by it. Definitely not something you would want your kids (and even other adults, I think) to watch. I still couldn’t believe Adam Sandler did that movie. I really actually liked him in many of his other movies, because I felt he was pleasant and they imparted good lessons. But after Zohan (which I didn’t finish watching the movie as I couldn’t stand it any longer), I would be very careful about perhaps watching his future movies.
What did you guys think of it (if you’ve seen it?)?
ligaya
Jun 8, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Mary Ann, if the kids get antsy during the credits before getting to the surprise at the end, maybe they can look for the movie’s characters behind the letters, and figure out the continuation of the story – for example, Po showing baby bunnies the secret of the Dragon Scroll & leading a group of kids in kung fu exercises on a bridge.
WE LOVED KFP – me even more than hubby since I once studied Shotokan Karate, and I’ve been a fan of martial arts movies since 1970. The filmmakers said in an interview that they wanted the martial arts to be authentic as the centerpiece of KFP. A number of them were martial artists themselves, and they made sure every move was right. Jet Li & Jackie Chan fans will recognize the different styles of king fu. They also wanted the animals to be authentic, so they consulted animal experts – we see the great results in Tai Lung the Snow Leopard, Monkey, and the rest.
The background is gorgeous. I’ve seen pictures of China’s scenery, architecture & costumes, and these are almost the real thing. Sometimes the scenes reminded me of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Curse of the Golden Flower.
Hubby & I have been laughing since Friday remembering our favorite scenes. There are a couple of sad scenes & scary parts – but not enough to upset the kids.
Jack Black is PERFECT, and Dustin Hoffman & Ian McShane are excellent. I liked that the filmmakers gave the characters some dimension – telling us how Tai Lung turned bad, showing Master Shifu as irritable & exasperated as opposed to always serene. Critics are divided over which role – Yoda or Obi-Wan Kenobi - is Master Shifu’s or Master Oogway’s. (BTW, Po’s dad is a goose, so I guess Po’s adopted. ;-) )
Everybody else is wonderful but their parts are too short in order to keep the movie 88 minutes. I hope there’s sequel with all the characters voiced by Angelina, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, David Cross, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, Michael Clarke Duncan & of course, Jack Black. I hope the Furious Five have their own storylines & backstories.
ligaya
Jun 8, 2008 at 2:03 pm
(My comment on KFP is under mod.)
Mary Ann, if the kids get antsy during the credits before getting to the surprise at the end, maybe they can look for the movie’s characters behind the letters, and figure out the continuation of the story – for example, Po showing baby bunnies the secret of the Dragon Scroll & leading a group of kids in kung fu exercises on a bridge.
ligaya
Jun 8, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Post to Mary Ann under mod.
irma
Jun 8, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I’ve seen Kung Fu Panda Yesterday with my g-son, he was laughing real hard till the end of the movie, he said he likes Po & I told him I like Tigress. LOL. You know the reason. I also bought him a play station game of KFP & a book, anything with Angelina’s name attached to it, I will support.
I’m glad KFP is # 1 at the box office this weekend.
I miss seeing the Jolie-Pitt’s. . God bless them.
irma
Jun 8, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Once KFP dvd comes out I will buy myself a copy.
isacutie
Jun 8, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I took my son and nephews to see KFP yesterday and we had a blast. My son loved it so much he wants to see it again and buy the DVD when it comes out. I loved it, and I really do love the message of the movie. Congratulations to Dreamworks for making such a good movie.
isacutie
Jun 8, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I might add that their grandmother came with as well, and while she generally do not like animated movies, she loved this one.
angela
Jun 8, 2008 at 8:08 pm
congrats to KFP. i had a great laugh watching it.
Lucy
Jun 8, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I am glad KFP made it to Number 1. Hooray for Angie and cast. Now, do you think she will make an appearance for “Wanted” in London?
ligaya
Jun 8, 2008 at 10:47 pm
I’m definitely getting the DVD - I’m sure I’ll see a lot that I missed if I use the slo-mo.
McDonald’s has a promotion with KFP. They have 8 toys (Po, Master Shifu, Tai Lung & the Furious Five). Typically, they give away one of the toys, a different one every week, with the Happy Meals. Po has already run out, today I got Master Shifu – they’re very cute & sturdy.
ligaya
Jun 8, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Friday was my KFP orgy #1 – I saw it 3 times, 2x with a gazillion schoolchildren & 1x with hubby and a mixed crowd. Everyone clapped at the end.
There were adult singletons at each show – maybe Jack Black & Angie fans, martial arts fans & animation fans. (Typically, I watch movies I like 2x – for my first impression, and for what I may have missed the first time. Sometimes, like Star Wars movies, I go many, many times.)
ligaya
Jun 8, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Today was my KFP orgy #2 – like a whirlwind I went to my local bookstore and got 4 KFP books & 3 VF (one to tear up for my collage, one to give away). Then like a tornado, I scooped up 4 action figure sets & 4 stuffed toys – including Tigress, at my local toystore. They also had Grendel’s mother from Beowulf, so naturally I got that too. Too bad they didn’t have the dragon. That’s it – I’m done.
BlessBrangelina
Jun 9, 2008 at 1:55 am
My husband and I went to see it, very funny! Our screen was full. The little bit at the end was very cute!
I was very surprised at how many grown ups, sans kids, there were in the audience!
naty
Jun 9, 2008 at 2:04 am
congratulations to dream works! its no.1 in the box office and for sure im going to watch it and at the same time get copy for my grand son and grand daughter.besides all the star cast in this animation film is all my favorite. thanks sherry for the update!
irma
Jun 9, 2008 at 11:47 am
I will buy my copy of Vanity fair tomorrow, too hot & humid to go out the house today. My vacation will be over on Wed.
I hope, Brad & Angie attend the premiere of “Wanted” in London even for a couple of hours so fans will not be disappointed, knowing Angie, she is always a trooper & never disappoint her fans but her big baby bump might prevent her from attending, let’s see & wait.
KFP is # 1 at the box office, I’m happy for Angie, cast & crew. I enjoyed watching KFP with my g-son. Congrats !! God bless the Jolie-Pitt’s.
Rease
Jun 9, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Hello all–
Angelina was voted #1 of the 50 most glamorous women of 2008 in Glamour magazine. Just thought you might want to know!
See here: http://www.glamour.com/fashionbeauty/slideshows/2008/05/most_glamorous?slide=50
BlessBrangelina
Jun 9, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Thanks Rease :)
ligaya
Jun 10, 2008 at 11:23 am
Thanks, Rease.
http://goldderby.latimes.com/
“Can ‘Kung Fu Panda’ knock out ‘WALL-E’ to claim the Oscar?”
Comingsoon.com says nomination looks likely but Pixar’s WALL-E is the Goliath.
ligaya
Jun 10, 2008 at 11:50 am
WHY KFP WON #1 and DOES IT HAVE LEGS (Hulk expected to win next weekend)?
“Grown-ups get their kicks from ‘Panda’ “
With its cast of characters — voiced by Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Ian McShane and Dustin Hoffman — “Panda” is a natural film franchise.
The race between “Panda” and “Zohan” was expected to be much closer, but “Panda” far exceeded expectations that it would tally box office in the high-$30 million to low $40 million range. It success seemed to reflect pent-up demand for appealing family films in the marketplace. “Panda,” with a per-screen average of $14,584, is the first bonafide family hit of the summer. The debut, about $15 million above projections, and it did so with a surprisingly grown-up crowd. The “Panda” debut included $2.3 million rung up from 89 of Imax’s giant-screen venues. According to a studio exit poll, 55% of the audience were females, 71% of the audience was 17 and older, and 51% of Panda-goers were older than 25. Roughly 41% of the audience was parents, while 17% were under the age of 12. Of the overall aud, 12% were teenagers.
“That’s an amazing statistic,” says Jeff Bock, analyst for the industry tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. “That means the movie drew heavily on fanboys, those young men who love the martial arts. (Animation) is starting to break out of that family-only mode.” “It probably resonated better than expected with the adults,” Paramount marketing maven Anne Globe said. “We really tried to show that the movie had comedy, action and lots of heart, which appeals to every member of a family, and you can really see that audiences and critics alike embraced the movie. There was strong appeal for this movie in the tweens, teens and general audience beyond the core families and kids,” said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks. “Certainly, families and kids also showed up in droves.” Friday’s gross of $20.3 million was particularly strong for a family film, indicating that “Panda” also got teenagers and young adults.
(info from USA Today, Variety, Hollywood Reporler, LA Times)
ligaya
Jun 10, 2008 at 11:56 am
KFP DOES GRRREAT OVERSEAS - $20.7 Million in just 9 markets
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i1751753614c1db7781fa0b80307544bb
The No. 1 domestic title, DreamWorks/Paramount’s “Kung Fu Panda,” debuted day-and-date in nine overseas markets for an animated $20.7 million from 1,398 screens for a muscular $14,806 per-screen average.
“Panda,” the action saga of an overweight panda (voiced by Jack Black), set boxoffice records for an animation title in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines and grossed a stunning $9.2 million from 569 locations in Russia, as well as $7.5 million from 550 screens in South Korea.
ligaya
Jun 10, 2008 at 12:00 pm
BEHIND THE MAKING OF KFP
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080609.wkungfu09/BNStory/Entertainment/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080609.wkungfu09
Celebrity voices sell
Kung Fu Panda was in production for four years, but Angelina Jolie spent one week on it and got all the press.
Ann
Jun 11, 2008 at 8:17 pm
I am pretty sure there is Disney animated movie in the works based on an ethnic princess and it is set in New Orleans,
Ann
Jun 11, 2008 at 8:18 pm
here is the link to the press release
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17524865/
ligaya
Jun 13, 2008 at 7:35 am
KFP filmmakers are doing a charity auction on eBay benefitting Conservation International & pandas in the wild. Items include autographed script & posters, art, Po maquette etc.
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=kung+fu+panda&_sacat=See-All-Categories
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