Shares of DreamWorks Animation (DWA) dropped in midday trading after an analyst from Piper Jaffray said that the studio's new film "Kung Fu Panda 3" slightly underperformed his expectations, despite having topped the U.S. box office in its opening weekend.

What's new: DreamWorks' newest picture "Kung Fu Panda 3," starring Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie, topped the U.S. box office this past weekend after its release Friday, grossing $41M domestically. The film was produced by DreamWorks and distributed by 21st Century Fox (FOX), which also distributed the weekend runner-up "The Revenant," which grossed $12.4M in the U.S.

What's notable: The first two films in the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise took in $60.2M and $47.6M, respectively, in their opening weekends and grossed a total of nearly $1.3B worldwide.

'Slight' Underperformance: Commenting on the movie's performance over the weekend, Piper Jaffray analyst James Marsh said in a note to clients that the movie's $41M debut figure was "solid" but still slightly missed the firm's expectations of $45M-$50M. Marsh noted that the movie grossed an "impressive" $58M in China, which set a new opening record for an animated movie in that region. The analyst added that "Kung Fu Panda 3" should still have a solid run over the next few weeks due to good reviews, minimal competition, President's weekend domestically and a Chinese New Year holiday abroad. Marsh maintained an Overweight rating and $31 price target on DreamWorks Animation.

Recent downgrade: Last week, Topeka analyst David Miller downgraded DreamWorks Animation to Sell from Hold with a $19 price target ahead of the "Kung Fu Panda 3" release, citing valuation. Miller said that shares had already reflected expectations for the movie and recommended that investors trim their positions.

Price action: In afternoon trading, DreamWorks Animation fell 6.7% to $23.92.