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Movie Monday: Don’t Mess With the Karate Kid


karatekid.jpgEvery week, Hollywood industry insiders speculate on how well new movies will do at the box office. Most weeks, these wizened mavens are pretty accurate. Every now and then, however, there’s a big surprise.

That’s what happened last weekend, as two rebooted relics from the 1980s squared off at the multiplex: The Karate Kid and The A-Team.

Many prognosticators expected pretty much a dead heat between these two old-school franchises. But that’s not what happened. Instead, The Karate Kid kicked up $56 million—about $20 million more than anyone thought it would make and more than double The A-Team’s $26 million take.

Writing about the surprise success of the new Karate Kid, movie critic and movie-industry analyst Scott Mendelson said, “We may have all ranted and railed about the idea … of remaking such a beloved ’80s classic at the time. … [But] this is exactly the kind of movie that studios should be making. At just $40 million, this star-driven drama will be absurdly profitable for Sony even if Toy Story 3 steals most of its young audience next weekend. … And, if I may editorialize for a moment, I must say it was refreshing to see a film that starred a young African-American and an older Asian that was not advertised in any way, shape, or form, as an ‘ethnic’ film.”

I wrote Plugged In’s review of The Karate Kid last week, and I have to say, I feel just like Mendelson does. As a GenXer, I didn’t really want anyone tampering with one of my favorite movies from my teen years. But I have to admit that the remake,  starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, works pretty well on an emotional level. And with fewer profanities and drug references than the original, it’s actually more family friendly in a couple key categories as well (albeit with a few more spiritual worldview issues for families to sort through).

As for The A-Team, well, it seems that more of everything—explosions, death and sexual content—actually translated into less than was hoped for at the box office.