Somehow them blue monsters finished another weekend on top of the international box office, making it three in a row, not too shabby. Now with the latest numbers that came in, The Smurfs has become a serious threat to the worldwide dominance of the Chipmunks and their leader, Alvin. Will the evil tiny blue freaks end up with more green in their pockets then those singing rodents? The answer could be right after the break.

The Smurfs made another $26.8 million so internationally it stands at $258.3 million. That means a worldwide total of $385.3 million, a bit shy of the 443.1 million that Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel made back in 2009. So the blue bastards need to gross another $57.8 million. With the movie out in most markets by now, I don’t think it can pull the extra mile to reach the Chipmunks. Either way, it will interesting to see how Alvin and Chipmunks: Chipwrecked performs against The Smurfs and if it can finish ahead worldwide in this battle of the ages.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes grossed $21.9 million adding to a total of $157.4 million and $308 million worldwide. The 2001 Planet of the Apes made $363.2 million so chances are Rise of the Planet of the Apes will finish with more than that.

We got a newish entry in the chart with Final Destination 5. The horror flick generated $21 million from just 20 markets for $28.5 million so far. The Final Destination, 4th entry in the series, made $186.1 million worldwide so with already $67 million, Final Destination 5 is on track to at least finish close to that, I’m thinking $150 million. On a $40 million budget that ain’t bad but a 6th Final Destination should have a big question mark on top right about now.

Cowboys & Aliens bursts to 4th place with $14.1 million for a lousy $35.5 million international total. What can I say, westerns are westerns and not even the sci-fi elements of this movie were enough to bring people in. With just $129.4 million worldwide, Cowboys & Aliens will barely match its huge production budget of $163 million.

Cars 2 made another $11.2 million and with that, stands at $521.9 million worldwide. Kung Fu Panda 2 took in $9.7 million for a new worldwide landmark total of $639.5 million. Now you may ask why landmark, the answer is simple, it just beat the $631.7 million made by Kung Fu Panda in 2008. So while the movie wasn’t as successful in North America this time around, a fantastic international run made sure that it would end up with a higher final worldwide figure.

On to a box office darling, mainly Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, by far the highest grossing movie of the year, it made another $9.4 million for $923.4 million internationally and $1.29 billion worldwide.

The Inbetweeners Movie was 3rd last weekend and now it’s 8th with $9.3 million and a great $42 million total for the British comedy.

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After setting a new opening weekend record in North America, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 did the impossible and destroyed the international opening record with an astronomical $314 million. The previous record was set just 2 months ago by Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides with $260 million, so you can kind of see why destroyed is the correct term here.

If we take a look at the all time international openings top 10, we can see that Harry Potter has definitely a strong foot in there with 4 movies now.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (3D) $314M
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D) $260.4M
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince $236M
4. Spider-Man 3 $230.5M
5. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D) $219.8M
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End $216M
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 $205M
8. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix $193M
9. 2012 $165.2M
10. Avatar (3D) $164.5M

As you can see, Potter has gone up quite a bit since Deathly Hallows Part 1 and based on the international performance of that ($660 million), Part 2 should be headed to $900 million, something I find very hard to believe. I think frontloaded would be the correct term here. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was crazy frontloaded so I’m inclined to think that it should finish with around $800 million internationally. Considering it already passed $390 million, that should not be a hard goal. If we take into account the money it will gross in North America, then the 8th Harry Potter is looking at about $1,150-1,200 million worldwide, enough to become the 3rd highest grossing movie of all time. I mean it is at $604.8 million worldwide already, halfway there. Finally, I don’t think I have to write to much about the fact this is now the fastest grossing movie ever, I mean it just opened a week ago and already flew past $600 million.

In 2nd place we find Transformers: Dark of the Moon with $39.5 million and $474 million so far internationally. Now it was to be expected that Potter would steal a big chunk of business from the autobots, but fear not Transformers fans, with both China and Japan set to open in the next few days, this flick has not reached its final hour yet. The billion mark worldwide is still very much a possibility.

Cars 2 was 3rd, grossing $12.4 million with still a lot more territories left to open in the next weeks. $146.6 million internationally and $314.6 million worldwide are the current tallies for this one.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is more impressive in 4th place with $10.2 million for $426.6 million internationally and that is now more then the $416.3 million made by the original. Worldwide the figure is $586.9 million, a bit less then the $631.7 million grossed by Kung Fu Panda in 2008, mostly because of the disappointing North American box office performance of the flick.

Bad Teacher was 5th with $6.9 million ($58.6M) and $148.8 million worldwide while Mr. Popper’s Penguins was 6th with a similar figure and $39.2 million so far internationally ($101.2M worldwide).

7th was Zookeeper with $5.8 million while Bridesmaids was 8th with $5.4 million and a very impressive $220.8 million worldwide. Japanese flick Kokuriko-Zaka Kara was 9th with $4.7 million (all made in Japan) and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was 10th with $3.1 million, probably the last time we’ll see it in the top 10. With $1,028.9 million worldwide, this is now the 6th highest grosser of all time.

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Transformers: Dark of the Moon was first again both in North America and around the world. With over $679 million in just 2 weeks, this is now the fastest worldwide grosser ever and well on track to finish north of $1 billion. As for the new entries, Horrible Bosses performed above average for an R-rated comedy while Zookeeper was below expectations. More about this and others after the break.

With $47.1 million in North America, Transformers: Dark of the Moon had a series high 2nd weekend, besting both Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($42.3 million) and Transformers ($37 million). What this means is Dark of the Moon ($273M in 14 days) is slowly gaining ground on Revenge of the Fallen ($305.5M after 14 days) while leaving Transformers ($228.9M after 14 days) further behind. Get this, first one made $4.7 million on a similar 2nd week Tuesday, 4 years ago, Revenge made $5.7 million 2 years ago while Dark of the Moon grossed 6 million on Tuesday, 2 days ago. Based on all of the above Transformers: Dark of the Moon is headed for $360-370 million in North America.

Outside NA the autobots are more popular then ever with numbers that make the first two movies look like under-performers. In just 2 weeks Dark of the Moon made more than what Transformers generated in its entire run ($390.4 million) and almost as much as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with $406.2 million versus $434.1 million (again, entire run). With these kind of numbers, nothing short of a miracle (read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 eating away a huge chunk of business this weekend) could clip the wings of this box office behemoth before it can reach 1 billion worldwide.

Back to North America where Horrible Bosses was 2nd with $28.3 million, in line with other similarly successful R-rated comedies (that are not sequels, so no The Hangover Part II) released this summer (Bridesmaids opened with $26.2 million while Bad Teacher made $31.6 million). $100 million is what Horrible Bosses should aim for after this good start. On the other end Zookeeper, a PG family comedy with talking animals, was below previous Kevin James efforts of the past years (Paul Blart: Mall Cop opened with $40.5 million) but above this year’s The Dilemma ($17.8 million). Not to mention this was aiming for Night at the Museum kind of success and is failing horribly at that. About $65-70 million is as high as this could go.

Other notable movies:

• Cars 2 is at $153.2 million in North America and $274.8 million worldwide, still on track to finish with $650-700 million worldwide;
• Bad Teacher made $81.2 million in NA and $127 million worldwide;
• Super 8 $119.2M ($170.3M);
• Green Lantern $110.6M ($143.9M);
• Bridesmaids $158.9M ($207.7M);
• X-Men: First Class $142.5M ($343.4M);
• Kung Fu Panda 2 $159.3M ($568.2M);
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides $236.5M ($1,021.9M), will pass Alice in Wonderland ($1,024.3M) this week to become the 6th highest grossing movie ever worldwide, unadjusted for inflation;
• The Hangover Part II $251.1M ($310.4M).

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We are 6 months and 8 days into 2011 and after a very slow start the year finally picked up over the last 3 months with blockbusters like Rio, Fast Five, Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Hangover Part II, Kung Fu Panda 2 or Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Unfortunately only 2 of those are not sequels and out of the bunch, they were the least successful (Thor and Rio). After the break we will take a look at the top 10 films in the first half of 2011 both in North America and worldwide.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 movies in North America so far:

1. The Hangover Part II  $248.9M
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D)  $234.5M
3. Fast Five  $208.4M
4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D)  $194M
5. Thor (3D)  $178M
6. Kung Fu Panda 2 (3D)  $157.5M
7. Bridesmaids  $154.3M
8. Rio (3D)  $140.6M
9. X-Men: First Class  $139.7M
10. Cars 2 (3D)  $126.3M

In a few days Transformers: Dark of the Moon will take the top spot away from The Hangover Part II and Bridesmaids should pass Kung Fu Panda 2. Next up, X-Men: First Class will pass Rio while Cars 2 should finish somewhere around Fast Five with $200 million.

Now before going worldwide I think we need to see the international numbers first:

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D)  $774.7M
2. Fast Five  $389M
3. Kung Fu Panda 2 (3D)  $379.2M
4. Rio (3D)  $329.5M
5. The Hangover Part II  $300M
6. Thor (3D)  $261.7M
7. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D)  $259.9M
8. Black Swan  $220.8M
9. X-Men: First Class  $196.1M
10. The Green Hornet (3D)  $129M

Black Swan first debuted in January outside North America, that’s why it’s in here. As you can see, there are differences here with The Hangover Part II a lot lower on the list and 3D movies in general, ranked higher.

Finally a look at the worldwide box office so far:

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3D)  $1,009.2M
2. Fast Five  $597.4M
3. The Hangover Part II  $549M
4. Kung Fu Panda 2 (3D)  $536.9M
5. Rio (3D)  $470.2M
6. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3D) $454.1M
7. Thor (3D)  $439.8M
8. X-Men: First Class  $336M
9. Rango  $242.6M
10. The Green Hornet (3D)  $227.8M

With Transformers in its first week and an impressive list of movies still to come, this top 10 should look radically different at the end of the year. Call me crazy but with Harry Potter only a week away and Transformers: Dark of the Moon doing amazing business internationally, 2011 might just become the first ever to have 3 movies with over $1 billion worldwide.

Right now my money is on Transformers: Dark of the Moon finishing on top in North America while Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides should keep the number 1 spot worldwide with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 a close second.

Still to come with potential to finish in either of the lists above: Zookeeper, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Captain America: The First Avenger, Cowboys & Aliens, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Smurfs, Conan the Barbarian, Johnny English Reborn, Real Steel, The Rum Diary, Puss in Boots, Immortals, Happy Feet 2, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, Hugo Cabret, New Year’s Eve, Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn, War Horse.

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It took three movies for Transformers to finally reach the international box office it was always destined to have. Transformers: Dark of the Moon opened to a whopping $219 million, second highest of the year (Pirates 4 scored $260 million) and if we go by worldwide numbers then Optimus Prime and his gang hauled an even more impressive $382.4 million, second only to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with $394 million.

With such fantastic numbers, Transformers: Dark of the Moon has a good chance at becoming the 2nd movie to reach $1 billion after Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides got there on Saturday. Back in 2007 Transformers grossed 390.4 million internationally and $709.7 million worldwide while in 2009 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen made $434.1 million internationally and $836.2 million worldwide. As you can clearly see, there wasn’t much in the way of international growth for the series between part 1 and 2 but for part 3 things are looking radically different. With Japan and China still to come later this month, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is on track for over $600 million internationally, even with higher 3D tickets, a 50% growth in just 2 years is damn impressive. So far the autobots have grossed $454 million worldwide in just a week.

A very distant 2nd place was Cars 2 with $22.1 million (1st place had $219 million) and so far this made $82.2 million. With a lot more markets set to open the flick in the coming months, Cars 2 is performing internationally a lot better then it is in North America.

Another big hit around the world, Kung Fu Panda 2, added $20 million for a new international total of $377.6 million and $536.8 million worldwide. It now seems like this will stop just shy of $600 million, so not that far from the final gross of Kung Fu Panda, $631.7 million.

4th place belongs to The Hangover Part II with $9.6 million for over $300 million around the world and $548.9 million if we include North America.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was 5th and thanks to $7.7 million over the weekend, it is now at $774.7 million internationally and $1,009.2 million worldwide, as in over 1 billion. This is now the 3rd Johnny Depp movie to reach that milestone and his 4th one in the worldwide top 10, something very few actors managed to ever achieve (Orlando Bloom with two Pirates and two Lord of the Rings flicks in 2007 and Harrison Ford way back in the 80′s with three Star Wars and at least two Indian Jones come to mind).

Bridesmaids and Bad Teacher were 6th and 7th with $7.2 million each while an Delhi Belly, a Bollywood flick, was 8th with an impressive $7.1 million.

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After a first place debut in North America, Cars 2 managed to grab the same spot around the world. Now this would not be in any way surprising considering how huge the Cars franchise has become in the past 5 years, but what really stands out is this only came out in 18 markets and still grossed enough to beat the likes of Kung Fu Panda 2, the former leader.

Cars 2 took in $42.9 million last weekend and according to Disney, it was up by 127% compared to Cars in the same markets. Considering that one made $217.9 million internationally, it’s safe to assume that Cars 2 will finish north of $400 million internationally for what should look like around $650-700 million worldwide. Still, there’s a long way to go before it can reach those heights and right now Cars 2 has only $123 million worldwide.

Second place went to Kung Fu Panda 2 with $36.7 million from 56 markets for a new total of $343.4 million internationally and $497.7 million worldwide. Back in 2008 Kung Fu Panda made $416.3 million internationally and $631.7 million worldwide. This one will probably stop around $600-$630 million worldwide.

The Hangover Part II made $16.5 million for $283.3 million internationally and a record $528.1 million worldwide making it by far the most successful R-rated comedy around the world.

Inevitably, we come to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides again, this time with $13.5 million for $756.1 million internationally and that means, well, I will let the numbers speak:

1. Avatar 2,021.8 million
2. Titanic 1,242.4  million
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 756.1   million

Worldwide is at $986.6 million and this weekend it should break the 1 billion mark becoming the 8th movie to do so. When all is said and done, Pirates 4 should be at $1,020-1,040 million either becoming 6th or 7th in history (not adjusted for inflation).

X-Men: First Class took in $13 million for $186.6 million and $321.2 worldwide. It has passed X-Men ($296.3 million) but it will fall just short of X-Men Origins: Wolverine ($373 million) and not even close to X2 ($407.7 million) and X-Men: The Last Stand ($459.3 million).

Bad Teacher was 6th with a solid $12.4 million from 24 markets and now holds $18.3 million internationally for a worldwide total of $57.8 million.

Time for some interesting facts about a movie that came out 2 months ago yet it’s still doing business. Did you guys know that Fast Five has made so far about as much as the entire worldwide grosses of the first three Fast and Furious movies combined? $596.8 million vs $601.9 and it isn’t out of the question that it could ultimately pass that total with a bit of help. Universal, mental note, help Fast Five hit that mark.

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While it might have disappointed in North America, Kung Fu Panda 2 is doing well just about everywhere else setting itself on track to pass the original Kung Fu Panda, at least internationally thanks in no small part to the more expensive 3D tickets. Some spots under, Pirates again while The Hangover Part II passed a certain original and obviously, a lot more after the break.

It was June 2008 when Kung Fu Panda was unleashed in theaters to awesome box office results, finishing with a hefty total of $631.7 million worldwide. No surprise that 3 years later we have Kung Fu Panda 2, a sequel with a lot to live up to. 3D was a major new addition that Dreamworks thought would propel Panda to new heights for the series. 26 days later and only $148 million in North America makes it look like they failed but, like with many movies now, international markets save the day once again. Kung Fu Panda 2 made another $58.2 million from 54 countries last weekend for a grand total of $288.2 million so far and $433 million worldwide. With still a few big markets left to open and only Cars 2 stealing audiences (starting this week), Kung Fu Panda 2 is poised to finish with over $600 million worldwide, more then enough to give DreamWorks and Paramount confidence in the already planned Kung Fu Panda 3.

Pirates, arrrrrgh, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the Bloomless and Knightless 4th part in the absurdly popular Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney series, grossed another $26.3 million for a bloody gigantic $735.2 million internationally,. That is more then any in the series and second only to 3 other major releases, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Titanic and Avatar. The first one will be surpassed in a few days, second and third are out of reach. If we count the rather disappointing North American gross, we get a worldwide total of $956.7 million and that means a few things:

• this is only the 11th movie to ever pass $950 million;
• this is now the 3rd Pirates entry in the top 10 and the 5th Disney movie worldwide;
• just a week or so more and it will become the 8th movie to pass the billion mark;
• Johnny Deep is in 4 of the top 10 highest grossing movies ever worldwide;
• did I mention Pirates are insanely popular?

The Hangover Part II, some might say an average sequel to a great comedy. I would definitely agree with that statement, but this is all you need really, a good first movie and the rest can be mediocre because it will sell regardless. $22.4 million from 55 markets and $257.6 million so far. Worldwide The Hangover Part II is at $490.3 million, more then the $467.4 million of The Hangover, all done without the help of 3D inflated tickets, just a damn good first movie.

This is already longer then it should be so I will keep it real short from here on. X-Men: First Class made another $21 million for $164.6 million and a worldwide of $286.4 million. It passed the original X-Men internationally ($139 million). Green Lantern, number 1 in North America, opened in a few markets with $16 million and will expand in weeks to come. Super 8 is slowly growing with $12.1 million and $21.5 million so far internationally.

Other noteworthy movies:

• Fast Five is now at $591.9 million, 60th worldwide;
• Rio has $468.4 million, 99th worldwide;
• Thor is at $435.3 million, 118th worldwide;

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“In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight, Let those who worship evil’s might, Beware my power …Green Lantern‘s light“, or so says Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern oath. Last weekend wasn’t particularly bright or dark but it did provide a decent opening for Green Lantern, more of that and others after the break.

Green Lantern took home $53.1 million, not bad by any stretch but a bit underwhelming considering just over a month ago Thor opened with $65.7 million, arguably a harder sell. I’m not going to deep with the superhero comparisons here because I will give this subject a lot more attention in the very near future, so I will leave it at this, Green Lantern, good opening, could have been better. On a side note, reception looks to be on the low end here so that might have had something to do with the final weekend number.

Next up Super 8 was steady with $21.4 million, down 39.4% and now at $73 million after 10 days. So far this is in line with District 9, the 2009 R-rated alien flick that made $72.8 million after 10 days and ultimately grossed $115.6 million. But the difference in age rating must be taken into consideration here and besides similar box office results thus far, there is not a lot they share (ok, maybe they do). I believe Super 8 will perform better in the end, finishing north of $120 million in North America.

Jim Carrey is back in 3rd place with his newest movie, Mr. Popper’s Penguins. Based on a popular children’s book this made $18.4 million over the weekend. So is this a good number or a not? Well looking back at the last two live-action Jim Carrey comedies that had a wide release, Penguins stacks pretty well. Fun with Dick and Jane opened in 2005 with 14.3 million and went on to make $110.3 million while Yes Man opened with $18.2 million and finished with $97.7 million. So all in all $18.4 million for Mr. Popper’s Penguins doesn’t seem bad since his family movies tend to have great legs. I’m estimating this one should finish somewhere between $75 and $90 million.

X-Men: First Class, ouch, 50.5% drop, I was hoping for better then that. $11.9 million and $120.3 million so far in 17 days. This is now $2.6 million behind the original X-Men from 2000 that went on to make $157.3 million. As it stands, X-Men: First Class will stop sooner, around $150 million unfortunately.

On the other hand, The Hangover Part II is starting to show better holds, down 43% with $10 million and $233.1 million after 25 days. Maybe $277.3 million (The Hangover) ain’t so far away after all.

So what else is happening outside the top 5, well Bridesmaids is now inches away from the Judd Apatow record, $136.4 million and it has to hit $148.8 to beat Knocked Up, Kung-Fu Panda 2 made $143.6 million (Panda 1 had $181 million by now), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is at 220.7 million in North America while Thor has $176.1 million, Fast Five $206.8 million and Rio $138.7 million.

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The dream project of writer-director J.J. Abrams did not disappoint last weekend at the box-office. Super 8 was strong enough to lead a pack of good holdovers coming from what was the highest grossing May ever (not adjusted for inflation). More on Super 8 and the rest after the break.

Super 8 opened to $35.4 million last Friday and while that might not seem like much for a Steven Spielberg produced, J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Mission: Impossible 3, Lost) directed and written flick, this in fact only had a $50 million reported budget and was advertised in a very mysterious way, not to mention it has no real big name actors attached. In just 5 days (plus one preview day that generated $1 million on Thursday, before the opening) Super 8 has generated $44.6 million and weekdays are fantastic so far meaning word of mouth is doing some magic here. While it might not have had the best opening of the summer, Super 8 got people to talk and tell their friends about it, so I expect this to finish higher then it might have first looked like it would, probably north of $140 million becoming the 2nd highest grossing movie for J.J. Abrams.

X-Men: First Class was 2nd with $24.1 million and has now a total of 103.7 million in 12 days in North America. Compared to previous X-Men movies, this doesn’t look well at all and it saddens me since X-Men: First Class was a good movie, the best X-Men in 8 years. Just to give you an idea how First Class stacks against the others we will look at where all were after 12 days in release starting with the highest grossing and going down from there. X-Men: The Last Stand already had $181.3 million after 12 days while X2: X-Men United made $155.3 at the same point. X-Men Origins: Wolverine had $132.9 million while X-Men made $105.2 million, 11 years ago. If we take into account attendance then X-Men: First Class is even more far behind. Thankfully this wasn’t all that expensive ($160 million) and reception (critical and fan) has been great. As long as it can make about as much as X-Men and more around the world, chances for a sequel are still there.

Next up, Hangover  Part II did $17.6 million and a massive $219.6 million in 20 days making this the highest grossing movie of 2011 in North America so far. While this is indeed higher then the original Hangover was at the same time 2 years ago, it will ultimately fall short of the $277.3 million made by that one.

Kung Fu Panda 2 is 4th with $16.5 million and only $130.7 million in 20 days. That is a lot less then what Kung Fu Panda made in 2008 at the same point in time so chances that this one will come close to the $215.4 million made by the first one are zero. Now this is damn well surprising because Kung Fu Panda was a very well recieved movie and I was expecting the sequel to make a lot more, not the other way around. Oh well, international box office will have to save this one also.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is another disappointing sequel at the box office, failing to match even the first Pirates flick (that came out 8 bloody years ago without 3D), at least in North America, internationally things are very very different but more about that at another time. With $10.9 million Pirates 4 is now at $211.5 million in 26 days.

Bridesmaids in 6th with $10 million and 126.6 million in 33 days will become in no more then 2-3 weeks the highest grossing Judd Apatow movie (produced or directed) and this feat was not accomplished with his usual suspects (Seth Rogen, Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell to name just a few), instead with Kristen Wiig (who also co-wrote the script), another regular but hardly the person you would expect.

Finally in 7th we have the other new release of the weekend, kid flick Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer. Opened with $6 million and I don’t know what else to write so I will leave it at that, for the better.

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Though the first installment never fully captured this guy‘s attention, Kung Fu Panda 2 actually had me yearning for more. When taking that feeling into account, the only true disappointment to note here is that the flick barely runs 90 minutes.  Every animated-action engagement felt climatic from the get-go. The landscape this adventure was placed upon will give audiences an eye-gasm.

With all that praise being said, there isn’t a ton of laughter that will be flying out of one’s mouth. Chalk this up to a personal preference, but there should be multiple laugh-out-loud moments when looking at the make-up of this product. First off, it’s an obese Panda that does Kung Fu. And Jack Black is voicing this man-child. That combination alone should induce a lot more than a soft-smile. In reality, it doesn’t; but this is something the viewer will not dwell on after this story wisps through the screen.

Using a different type of animation within the modern 3D CGI, a back-story is projected to the audience regarding an evil Peacock in Lord Shen (voiced by Gary Oldman). Shen was banished from the great kingdom by his parents, stemming from the horrors he committed against a race of Pandas, based on a foretold prophecy that he will meet his demise from a “black & white” warrior. After he received the boot, he took his army of wolves and vowed to return and rule China.  And the bird lived up to his words. Shen has created a weapon that can counter-act any Kung Fu style. Unleashing this new found fire power (remember it’s ancient China), he begins to destroy all the cities until there are no longer any threats to his reign of terror.

Of course, Po (voiced by Jack Black) and the Furious Five are not just going to sit back and let this happen. So he, Tigress (voiced by Angelina Jolie), Mantis (voiced by Seth Rogen), Monkey (voiced by Jackie Chan), Crane (voiced by David Cross) and Viper (voiced by Lucy Liu) travel from the Valley of Peace and battle Shen across rivers, towns and a great fortress. During these exciting battles (that will have people clamoring for the videogame), Po discovers that Shen holds the key to unlocking where he truly came from.

The story is pretty fundamental and obvious (this product is aimed at the kiddies after all), but the execution and environments on-hand create a worthy cinematic experience. Every area Po and his fighting companions explored in this tale brings a sense of wonderment for all ages to engage in.

For those that are just getting introduced to the Kung Fu Panda crew, think of this piece as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ story – with Po representing the immature Michelangelo – being fused with an epic storytelling pattern found in any notable fantasy/adventure flick. The script and the characters are playful and vibrant, and there’s enough moments where the right amount of heart and substance enter in. Seeing young Po as a baby in the recurring hand-drawn animated flashback moments is easily the cutest thing seen on screen this year. (And that’s coming from a wannabe rock star who patterns a portion of his life after Steven Tyler).

When the story does get serious – or even mildly dire at times – the writers are quick to lighten up the mood through the dialogue. Stealing the show in the dialogue department is Gary Oldman as Shen.  The evil, sarcastic Peacock had the perfect balance of being comical one minute and insanely cruel the next.  Oldman found the right amusing tone in his voicing of this arrogant and bitter bird.

So there’s not a ton of laughs, or more specifically, not a ton of NEW laughs on display in this light-hearted piece.  The choreography of a few scenes are set-up to get the younger people giggling.  In the end though, it’s the splendid animation and warm-touching moments that will keep one fully attentive to this adventure.

Overall, Kung Fu Panda 2 trumps the first one and will be pleasing to all audiences. That’s all a sequel of this caliber can ask for. Go in peace…And do not feel guilty about splurging on the 3D.

RATING: 4 out of 5

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