It was Kung Fu vs. Magic all the way this week as Kung Fu Panda 2 escaped with a narrow victory over Harry Potter. Actuals confirmed this when it came in with a $1.74 million weekend. Both films combined to bank over 3m this weekend and played to large audiences. Kung Fu Panda 2's best day came on Sunday where it zoomed past Potter by almost 19,000 admissions after a close battle Thursday-Saturday. Theaters rewarded Kung Fu Panda 2's growing admissions with the best screens and showtimes and that a huge effect on its Sunday admissions, jumping 17% from Saturday. On Thursday, Kung Fu Panda 2 opened on top by about 5,000 admissions then the gap closed on Friday to just 1,000 as the 3D Cantonese version of Kung Fu Panda 2 dropped 3%. The gap widened again on Saturday when Kung Fu Panda 2 played well to families and took a 6,000 lead over Harry Potter for the day. It owned the top 2 increases on Saturday and Sunday with the 3D Cantonese version and the 2D Cantonese one. The 3D Cantonese version leapt 78% while the 2D version jumped 74% on Saturday from Friday. In addition to the 3D Cantonese's 17% jump on Sunday, the 2D Cantonese version rocketed up 24%. Both were the only ones in the top 5 to post double digit increases on Sunday. In retrospect, Kung Fu Panda 2's performance is somewhat disappointing given the superb openings around Asia and massive expectations the studio had. It did however, almost double the original's opening weekend thanks to 3D charges. They certainly would not have scheduled this on Harry Potter's 2nd weekend if they didn't think they could win it. They did but the price came from its opening weekend as Harry Potter held respectably in the face of new competition.

Meanwhile, Harry Potter continued to draw in crowds as the film dropped a very good 53%. While the drop will be bigger in gross, it won't be by much and it delivered one of the better 2nd weekend drops for a Harry Potter released in the summer. The last one (HP6) crumbled 66% with no massive openers so this is a marked improvement. It even held the advantage heading into Saturday where Kung Fu Panda 2 managed to gain the upper hand with families & couples pushing it further away from Potter. Part 2 was the only film in the top 5 to drop on Sunday but that was due to the decreased showtimes on Sunday than massive erosion. Potter should make around 1.65m for the weekend. Its total stands around 6.75 million and has passed Order of the Phoenix to become the top grossing movie in the franchise.

Transformers held well in the face of new competition as it went down just 43%. It managed to outduel Mr. Popper's Penguins in admissions after conceding the past 2 weeks. Although its drop will be higher with gross, it crossed 10m this week and now stands at 10.3m.

Mr. Popper's Penguins drowned with Panda 2 opening. It stumbled 57% this week in admissions and was thoroughly beaten by Transformers in admissions. Still, it's performance to date is spectacular and Hong Kong is its 2nd best market so far behind Australia. It also hit a milestone this week and passed 2m. Its total is up to 2.2m.

Love Is The Only Answer benefited from special screenings last week and opened to $234,551. It has made $240,445 so far.

The Tree Of Life continued its good run here and will drop less than 50% for the weekend. It is a nick under $350,000.