A poster of the movie Kung Fu Panda 3.
The latest animated film "Kung Fu Panda 3" hit China's theaters on Friday as it has taken in 107 million Renminbi, or 16.1 million U.S. dollars, on its official opening day.
The battling bear toon's first day box office was second among animated films only to the 116.6 million RMB (17.6 million dollars) earned by Illumination's Minions last September.
Combined with the 44 million RMB (6.6 million dollars) it has earned in its limited preview run last Saturday, the Panda movie has scored one of the biggest animated film box office debuts in the history of China's mainland.
From CNN and other foreign media's views, DreamWork Animation, producer of the series of Kung Fu Panda films, is making a big bet on Chinese moviegoers since there seem to be significant demand for the U.S. Blockbusters.
The latest Star Wars, Fast and Furious and Transformers movies were also very popular in China, but Kung Fu Panda 3 is even more tailor made for China than other American films, CNN said. "It's about panda. In China. Doing Kung Fu."
This movie is also mainly targeting at Chinese kids, which is described by CNN as a fast-growing market in China.
