Summer blockbusters must run in Will Smith’s family after son Jaden notched up a whopping $56m opening weekend at the US Box Office with Sony Pictures Entertainment’s The Karate Kid. A remake of the 1984 classic, the Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan-starring martial arts epic shattered industry expectations and dominated rival opener The A-Team in the battle of the 80s franchise reboots.
Delivering a vital kick-start to a lacklustre US summer box office, The Karate Kid defeated the much-maligned A-Team remake critically and commercially, achieving a healthy current score of 70% from renowned movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. The launch itself became the second-highest grossing launch ever for a martial-arts-themed picture, behind Jackie Chan’s own Rush Hour 2.
In stark contrast, supposed challenger The A-Team garnered an underwhelming $26m from its opening weekend, eventually settling for a distant second spot. With a production budget of $110m, The A-Team will struggle to recoup its investment unless it becomes a much stronger hit internationally. The Karate Kid itself has no such worries and looks to smash its relatively modest budget of $40m in the coming days.
In Columbia Pictures’ release, Jaden Smith takes on the Karate Kid mantle of Ralph Maccio (pictured above with cast and Smith family), starring as 12-year-old Dre Parker, whose mother’s (Taraji P.Henson) career trajectory brings the family to Beijing. A stranger in a strange land, Dre becomes isolated and soon makes an enemy an intimidating school bully. With no friends to turn to, he forms a bond with maintenance man and secret kung fu master Mr Han (Jackie Chan). Yes you read correctly, Jackie Chan is the new Mr. Miyagi – and no, we couldn’t be more excited at that prospect.
The Karate Kid is now expected to become the sleeper hit of the US Box Office this summer after this expectation-clobbering opening weekend yet sadly us Irish folk won’t get a chance to revisit our childhoods until the films Irish release on 28 July – blame that pesky World Cup for the delay. In the meantime we’ve enclosed the International trailer below to showcase the karate (and acting) chops of Will Smith’s nipper.
The Karate Kid is released nationwide on 28 July.
