Kung Fu Panda kicks its way to No. 1 at the box office

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By Patrick Luce Jun 9, 2008, 12:13 GMT

DreamWorks Animation and Paramount’s “Kung Fu Panda” took the top spot at the weekend box office with an estimated $60 million from 4,114 theaters.

In Variety, DreamWorks Animation’s worldwide marketing head Anne Glob stated the success of “Kung Fu Panda” was due to the film’s “great mix of action, comedy and lots of heart, which appeals to every member of a family.”The film looks to have long legs at the theater and could be the start of a franchise thanks to its cast of characters – which also happened to be voiced by Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Ian McShane and Dustin .The Adam Sandler comedy “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” saw a big opening weekend with an estimated $40 million from 3,462 runs. The Sony film demonstrated Sandler can still deliver a strong opening.In Variety, Sony prexy of domestic distribution Rory Bruer stated: “There’s no one who can open a film more consistently than Adam. It just doesn’t happen.”“Zohan” was written by Sandler, Robert Smigel and Judd Apatow. The film appealed to the young adults and teens - with 49% of the audience under the age of 25. The comedy tied with “Click” as the fifth best opening for a Sandler film, and beat last summer’s $34.2 million opening for Sandler’s “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.” The film, which was produced by Sandler and Jack Giarraputo, takes a humorous look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also keeps the raunchy comedy style fans expect from Apatow project. Paramount’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” took the No. 3 spot at the box office and barely beat “Sex and the City” with an estimated $22.8 million from 4,190 screens. The film has made an estimated $253 million since its release.New Line and Warner Bros.’ “Sex and the City” declined a steep 63% in its second weekend and took in an estimated $22.8 million from 4,190 runs. The film has edged close to the $100 million mark with an estimated $99.3 million since its release.Universal and Rogue’s horror film “The Strangers” took the No. 5 spot at the weekend box office with an estimated $9.3 million for from 2,477. The film, which only cost $9 million to produce, dropped 56% in its second weekend and has made an estimated $37.6 million since its release. Twentieth Century Fox’s romantic comedy “What Happens in Vegas” dropped 49%, and took in an estimated $3.4 million during the weekend. The film has made an estimated $72.3 million since its release.

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