Exclusive: DreamWorks Animation/Universal’s Kung Fu Panda 4 crossed the $500M mark globally this past weekend, reaching the milestone on a staggered release pattern that has worked well for the partners in the past (think Puss in Boots: The Last Wish). Through Wednesday, it’s at $324M international box office and $509M worldwide.

Directed by Mike Mitchell (and co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stine), the fourquel arrived eight years after the third installment of the franchise that began in 2008 and is the first of the series released by Universal after the studio acquired Dwa in 2016. All told thus far, the series has grossed $2.328B, the No .2 highest-grossing Dwa franchise behind Shrek.

KFP4, which has done gangbusters in Mexico ($35.6M through Wednesday) and logged the biggest April animation opening of all time in Korea, is poised to become the third-highest-grossing film of the bunch. Although if comping to current exchange rates...