[Global Times Special Correspondent Dong Ming] After the Hollywood animation "Kung Fu Panda 4" was released in China on the 22nd, it won the box office championship in one fell swoop. As of noon on the 24th, the domestic box office had reached 160 million yuan. Although its reput

[Global Times Special Correspondent Dong Ming] After the Hollywood animation " Kung Fu Panda 4" was released in China on the 22nd, it won the box office championship in one fell swoop. As of noon on the 24th, the domestic box office had reached 160 million yuan, although its reputation is not as good as the previous three. , but the film still attracts audiences with its already familiar characters and rich Chinese elements. At the same time, Chinese local animation is also going overseas in the process of exploring traditional culture and integrating the latest animation techniques.

is expected to create the best box office of Hollywood animation in China this year

"Kung Fu Panda 4" poster

As one of the longest-lived animation series of Hollywood animation brand DreamWorks, "Kung Fu Panda", which was born in 2008, has now filmed its fourth installment. The 16 years before and after are enough to accompany the growth of a generation, and the audience has also witnessed the growth and transformation of the "Dragon Hero" panda Po. In "Kung Fu Panda 4", Po not only has to face the powerful villain-Phantom Queen, but also joins hands with his new partner Fox Xiao Zhen to start a new adventure and mission, and pass on his mantle.

Many Chinese audiences are very fond of "Po" and went to watch the movie as soon as possible. On the first day of the film's premiere, it beat " " to top the box office list. It was on the box office list for three days on the weekend It leads the way in terms of film schedule and box office share. Although it is not scheduled during the winter and summer vacations, it still attracts a large number of parents and children to watch the movie. Maoyan Pro predicts that the final box office of "Kung Fu Panda 4" will reach 320 million yuan, creating the best performance of Hollywood animation in China this year. However, compared with the excellent reputation of the first three films, the domestic evaluation of "Kung Fu Panda 4" is not high. The Douban score is only 6.6, which is far lower than the previous average level of about 8 points.

The global box office performance is good

In fact, there have been signs of the decline in the quality of the movie "Kung Fu Panda 4" before. Many Hollywood media have reported that the cost of the film is only 85 million US dollars, which is far lower than the 150 million US dollars of the previous film. At the same time, DreamWorks also closed its Los Angeles studio and outsourced production work to third parties. It is not difficult to explain why the plot of the new film is routine and the Furious Five, who are very important in the "Kung Fu Panda" world view, are also absent. However, relying on the influence accumulated by the Kung Fu Panda IP for many years and the publicity and distribution capabilities of DreamWorks/Universal Pictures, the new film still performed well at the global box office.

"Variety" said that "Kung Fu Panda 4" (North America) still topped the box office in its second week of release. Ten days after its release, this family animation still surpassed the three-week-old science fiction blockbusters " Dune 2" and Mark... The new animal-themed movie "Champion Arthur" starring Wahlberg. According to data from the box office professional website boxofficemojo, the current North American box office of "Kung Fu Panda 4" is 130 million US dollars, and the global box office is 216 million. Although there is still a big gap between the box office of the previous three movies (630 million, 660 million and 520 million), but Considering that its cost is not high, there is still room for profit at the commercial level, which is expected to "continue the life" of the series.

Compared with the general disappointment of domestic audiences, "Kung Fu Panda 4" has a fair reputation in the UK and the United States. The Rotten Tomatoes website has a freshness rating of 72% and an audience popcorn index of 86%. The mainstream media score on the Metacritic website is 56 points. The Associated Press believes that although Dragon Warrior Po is at a crossroads of destiny, DreamWorks obviously knows what to do. This is a sweet, interesting, and perfect heritage journey. The "Screen Rant" website commented that "Although "Kung Fu Panda 4" follows a routine formula, the film quality still maintains the essence of DreamWorks' reliable productions." CNN believes that this new film "has a brisk pace, recreates the origin narrative, and brings enough laughter and fun."

"Los Angeles Times" said, "The presence of the funny panda Po is enough to bring fun entertainment based on the success of the IP, but for the long-awaited adult audiences, the 'dumpling stuffing' of the fourth part is a bit... Too dull." "Empire" believes that "the new film is a step back in ambition compared to the previous one, but fortunately it continues the cheerful and approachable mood of the series." The "the wrap" website borrowed a sharp comment from the character in the film: "Just like the abilities of the new villain Phantom Queen, the entire "Kung Fu Panda 4" is also imitating it and looks like a fake."

"Roger Ebert Network" was completely disappointed with the film: "It lacks both the delicate artistry and passionate wisdom of the previous film. The subtle spirit has long since disappeared, replaced by crazy action scenes. Although " The Kung Fu Panda series has always satisfied adults and children alike on every level, but this new film is silly and hollow for younger audiences."

"China should be proud of its heritage"

As the Movie Nation website says In the past two years, DreamWorks has frequently returned to the "Kung Fu Panda" and "Shrek" IPs, which shows that "like Disney's Pixar Studio, it has fallen into a creative bottleneck." Many movie fans also lamented that DreamWorks, once known for being "anti-traditional" and "subverting Disney routines," is now following Disney's old path. The "Kung Fu Panda" series, born in 2008, was originally a bold innovation by DreamWorks, a diversified attempt to draw nutrients from Eastern culture, using China's unique "Kung Fu" genre film combined with Hollywood's mature commercial production model to create a film suitable for the international market. Excellent IP.

However, DreamWorks' own development has encountered setbacks in recent years. Not only has the Chinese joint venture "Oriental DreamWorks" lacked successful works after "Kung Fu Panda 3" and " Snowman ", but its own company has also suffered from frequent high-level changes and equity changes. Change is stuck. In addition, Disney's "Legend of the Dragon" with an Eastern cultural background was not considered a success. Today, Hollywood as a whole is still paying attention to only a handful of works on such themes.

At the same time, China's domestically produced animations are rising rapidly, going overseas and gaining more attention and influence. The " Bears " series has been broadcast in many countries in Europe and Asia. " Deep Sea " has been broadcast on a large scale in France this year. It was released and received favorable reviews, allowing media and audiences from various countries to discover that China is already able to produce high-quality animations that are not inferior to those of the United States and Japan. "The Economist" once commented from the perspective of the history and development of Chinese animation: "Chinese animated films are currently booming, from " Black Cat Sheriff " 40 years ago to the 2019 box office surpassing "Avengers 4" " Nezha: The Devil Boy Comes into the World ", and this year's " Bears: Reversal of Time and Space ", their smoothness is reminiscent of Pixar."

reported that the proportion of animation in the Chinese film market has also increased year by year. , in 2023, many cartoons in China were very successful, especially " Chang'an Thirty Thousand Miles ", a masterpiece about the poetry and history of the Tang Dynasty, which won the seventh place in the annual box office and helped the animation box office throughout the year. Accounting for 9.5% of the market, 4 times that of 2018. From "Journey to the West: The Return of the Great Sage" and "The Devil Boy of Nezha" to "White Snake" and "Thirty Thousand Miles from Chang'an"...these successful Chinese animations all have a common feature: they are based on traditional culture. This coincides with the "cultural self-confidence" pursued by the Chinese. "In other words, China should be proud of its own traditions and not be limited by the influence of Western culture."