UPDATE 1-'Kung Fu Panda 3' Kicks Up $41 Million to Dominate U.S. Box Office

(Adds other movies)
By Dave McNary
LOS ANGELES, Jan 31 (Variety.com) - "Kung Fu Panda 3" showed
plenty of power at the U.S. box office with a solid opening
weekend of $41 million at 3,955 theaters as the durable family
franchise dominated moviegoing.
Disney's launch of Coast Guard rescue adventure "The Finest
Hours" saw only modest returns with $10.3 million at 3,143 sites
-- trailing both "The Revenant" and the seventh weekend of "Star
Wars: The Force Awakens."
Marlon Wayans' spoof "Fifty Shades of Black" generated only
middling business at about $6 million at 2,075 locations and
Natalie Portman's oft-delayed Western "Jane Got a Gun" was
nearly invisible with less than $1 million at 1,210 screens.
"Kung Fu Panda 3," distributed by Fox for DreamWorks
Animation, will finish its first weekend near 2011's "Kung Fu
Panda 2," which opened with $47.7 million domestically on its
way to $162.5 million. The 2008 original bowed to $60.2 million
and ended its U.S. run with $215 million.
The cartoon also helped the U.S. box office turn in a
respectable performance following a dismal weekend that saw
business hit hard by the massive East Coast snowstorm. Leonardo
DiCaprio's "The Revenant" won the frame with only $16 million in
its third weekend of wide release.
"The Revenant" remained a solid draw in second place in its
fourth weekend of wide release, thanks to its dozen Oscar
nominations and DiCaprio's star power. It finished the weekend
with $12.4 million at 3,330 sites for a decline of only 25% and
has now generated an impressive $138.2 million domestically.
DiCaprio is widely expected to win his first Oscar for his
gritty portrayal of fur trapper Hugh Glass in "The Revenant." He
won the SAG Award on Saturday.
Disney's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" led the rest of the
pack with $10.8 million at 2,566 locations, lifting its
record-setting U.S. total to $895.4 million. That was enough to
edge the studio's "The Finest Hours" for fourth.
Universal's third weekend of "Ride Along 2" followed in
fifth with $8.4 million at 2,412 sites, lifting its 17-day total
to nearly $71 million.