The Box office this weekend was notable for one thing: “Kung Fu Panda 4” beat “Dune Two” for the second week in a row.
The Panda only did it by $900,000. And after all, “Dune” shed 277 theaters while “Panda” added 32. “Dune” has also made $205 million, so Warner Bros. probably doesn’t care at this point. “Panda” has $107 million.
But where was the Dune-Panda marketing a la Barbenheimer? Seems like a missed opportunity! We will never know “Kung Fu Dune”!
Focus Features released a film called “The American Society of Magical Negroes.” I’d never heard of it and apparently no one else did, either. Total for the weekend was $1,250,000. On Rotten Tomatoes, 50 critics gave it a 30% rating. Audience members were at 61%. The title didn’t help.
On Thursday night we get the latest “Ghostbusters” from Sony, which has two stinkers in theaters right now. Their one shining light was the romcom, “Anyone But You,” now on home video. Another flop, they don’t need. But “Frozen Empire” should have a big Thurs-Fri opening, and then we’ll see about word of mouth.
