The new Karate Kid: Legends movie is having a tough time at the box office, even with big names like Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio in the cast. The film didn’t do well in its first weekend and made less than $10 million in its second weekend in U.S. theaters. Right now, it’s made around $35 million in the U.S. and $38 million overseas, giving it a total of $74 million worldwide.
That may sound like a lot, but compared to earlier Karate Kid movies, it’s disappointing. For example, the 2010 Karate Kid reboot with Jaden Smith earned $55 million in its opening weekend alone and ended up with over $350 million worldwide. In comparison, Legends will likely fall short of the $50 million mark in the U.S.
The movie cost around $45 million to make. Usually, a film needs to make double its budget to break even after marketing and other costs — so Legends needs at least $100 million. It might get close, but it won’t be the hit Sony was probably hoping for.
Even though Karate Kid: Legends got mixed reviews from critics (57% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences really liked it (94% audience score). That’s usually a good sign. But these days, even high fan scores don’t always lead to big ticket sales. Another example is Ballerina, a spin-off from the John Wick series, which also had strong audience scores but didn’t make much money.
Sony likely made this movie because the Cobra Kai series has been popular on Netflix for years. But it seems like that fan excitement didn’t fully carry over to theaters this time.
Even though Karate Kid: Legends has now made more money than Jackie Chan’s 2004 flop Around the World in 80 Days, it still falls short of expectations for such a well-known franchise.