“Kung Fu Panda 4” kicked off with a mighty hi-yah! on Wednesday, as the trailer for the animated comedy racked up more than 142 million views across channels.
TikTok was a major contributor to the karate-chopping trailer’s terrific debut, which outperformed comparable Universal titles “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Minions 2,” “Sing 2” and “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” according to the studio.
“Kung Fu Panda 4” trailer hype falls near other successful major-studio movies in recent months, including “Inside Out 2” — which marked the biggest animated trailer launch in Disney history with 157 million views (78 million of which came from TikTok) — and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” which earned a combined 100 million views for Disney and 20th Studios during the film’s marketing launch period.
The “Kung Fu Panda 4” trailer, which featured the return of Jack Black’s beloved panda Po, also rocketed to the top of YouTube’s trending page. Per Universal, the core viewing audience was aged 25-34.
In the upcoming film, Po gears up to retire as Dragon Warrior in favor of becoming a spiritual leader, and must train a cunning fox named Zhen (Awkwafina) to be his successor.
Ke Huy Quan and Viola Davis join the cast of “Kung Fu Panda 4” alongside returning voice actors Dustin Hoffman, James Hong, Bryan Cranston and Ian McShane. The kung fu comedy, directed by Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stine, will debut March 8, 2024, in theaters via DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures.
Watch the trailer below.