"Kung Fu Panda 3" beats "The Revenant" to top box office

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Kung Fu Panda 3" has come out as a new winner in this weekend's battle against "The Revenant" for the first place at the North American box office. The third installment of the animated comedy film from DreamWorks Animation raked in approximately $41 million after it's released on January 29, AceShowbiz reports.

"It's a terrific opening weekend," said Chris Aronson, 20th Century Fox's president of domestic distribution. " 'Kung Fu Panda' is a very popular property and Po is such a beloved character. I think Dreamworks has done a terrific job of keeping this franchise vibrant."

The movie's opening gross exceeded studio expectations of $35 million. Featuring Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan and more in the voice cast, it received an A grade from audience.

Former champion "The Revenant" is pushed down one position to No. 2 with approximately $12.4 million. Only down 22.5% from last week, it has received strong boast following Leonardo DiCaprio's SAG Award win last Saturday, January 30 and its 12 Oscar nominations.

At No. 3, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" adds another $10.8 million for a current domestic total of $895.4 million. 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.

Another new release in the top ten this week is "Fifty Shades of Black", a "Fifty Shades of Grey" spoof led by Marlon Wayans. It grossed an estimated $6.2 million for a ninth place, below analysts prediction of between $10 million and $15 million.