Moviegoers across North America were in a fighting mood during the weekend, cheering the family cartoon "Kung Fu Panda" to the top spot at a box office packed with hits.

DreamWorks Animation's Jack Black comedy about a panda who dreams of martial arts glory handily beat forecasts by earning an estimated $60 million during its first three days, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Sunday.

But it was not a complete knockout. Columbia Pictures' Adam Sandler comedy "You Don't Mess with the Zohan," in which the comedian plays an Israeli commando-turned-New York hairdresser, opened at No. 2 with $40 million, also beating forecasts.

Going into the weekend, the championship could have gone either way. In one corner, "Kung Fu Panda" was powered by rave reviews and an underserved family audience; in the other, Sandler could count on young male fans unlikely to be swayed by negative notices from puzzled critics.

Last weekend's champ, New Line Cinema's romantic comedy "Sex and the City," fell to No. 4 with $21.3 million, a massive 63 percent drop from its surprisingly strong opening weekend. Sales to date stand at $99.3 million for the big-screen adaptation of HBO's fashion-and-relationship series.

Just ahead of it was "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" with $22.8 million, down one place. The total for the Paramount-distributed adventure rose to $253 million after three weekends.

Viacom Inc-owned Paramount distributes DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc productions. Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp. New Line is a division of Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. Pictures.

Jack Black at #1 and Adam Sandler at #2. I think I'm going to puke.

:chuckle:

Those two guys are so not funny. Adam Sandler basically plays the same part in all movies (an asshole) and Jack Black is just a fucking moron. He almost ruined King Kong single handedly.

I saw the trailer for the Panda thing and it looked rubbish.

Yeah, it looked very, very childish.

Well it's Jack Black, what did you expect? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?

I actually think Kung Fu Panda looks kinda funny.

You can shoot me now. :shy:

the movie's gettin GREAT reviews...

Adam Sandler... is he still peddling that one character he can be?

That Sandler movie looks like a Borat ripoff.

:vomit:

http://www.animated-news.com/2008/five-kun...els-on-the-way/

Five Kung Fu Panda sequels on the way?

In news that will surprise noone, Jack Black told AAP while promoting Kung Fu Panda in Sydney earlier today that he was confident there would be a follow up: “My eight ball says signs point to yes.” Jack says he’d jump at the chance to be involved if “all the stars are aligned to make it. It’s easy for me, I just come in and do the acting voice, it’s those animators and directors that have to really make the sacrifice.” In much more surprising news however, Jeffrey Katzenberg stated that there could be up to FIVE more Kung Fu Panda movies if he gets his way. “There is a larger story here of which this is the first chapter. In the same way Shrek had five chapters from the beginning, this has six. Whether we get to tell those chapters or not isn’t something we determine, the movie-goers determine. It needs to be a big hit. It needs to be a blockbuster.” Which Kung Fu Panda is clearly on its way to become… Deservedly so since this timeless action comedy with heart marks a fresh departure for DreamWorks–so why spoil it, especially so early in its theatrical run, with the announcement of endless sequels? You may remember that Jeffrey Katzenberg stated four years ago that Shrek had been conceived from the beginning as a four-chapter story, later bumping up that number to five.

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and i thought doing 'cars 2' was a bad idea...

:manson: :manson: :manson: :manson:

FIVE :manson:

That's complete overkill.