After three weekends at No. 1, DreamWorks Animation’s “Shrek Forever After” slipped to No. 3 with $15.8 million. The animated hit raised its domestic haul to $210.1 million, becoming the fourth movie released this year to top $200 million.
With a relatively modest production budget of $40 million, “The Karate Kid” far exceeded the studio’s expectations. Early on, Sony executives would have been happy if the movie opened to half its $56 million debut weekend, said Rory Bruer, the studio’s head of distribution.
Those expectations began to rise once the studio realized it had a crowd-pleaser on its hands, Bruer said.
“It’s just an unmitigated grand slam hit,” said Bruer, who also worked on distribution for the 1984 version. “I loved the original `Karate Kid,’ but they took this beloved title, and they made it relevant, fresh and absolutely exciting.”
The big opening for “The Karate Kid” gave Hollywood a boost after a weak start to the summer season. “Iron Man 2″ opened big the first weekend in May, but the box office has lagged since then.
According to box-office tracker Hollywood.com, overall revenues came in at $153 million, up 11 percent from the same weekend last year, when “The Hangover” led with $32.8 million.
“The Karate Kid” stars Jaden Smith as an American boy who moves with his mom to China, where he takes on a bully under the guidance of an unassuming martial-arts master (Jackie Chan).
No Comments
