'The Karate Kid' Beats 'The A-Team'

The highly awaited A-Team doesn’t appear to be much of a match for the Karate Kid remake. The A-Team pulled away with a gross of $26 million for its opening weekend, much lower than the expected for a remake with a built in audience.

It’s a great loss since the film cost $125 million to make. Entertainment Weekly writer Darren Franich blames this on the PG-13 rating. PG-13 films are usually a safe haven for the box office as it opens up a wider audience to see the film, but something went wrong here. Franich writes, “If you ask me, the movie’s mediocre box office is just further proof that Hollywood’s craven attempt to make teen-friendly films has practically destroyed a sainted genre: the contemporary action movie.”

With a budget of $40 million, The Karate Kid brought in a total of $56 million and the No. 1 spot at the box office. This was higher than what was anticipated of the kung-fu heavy American karate movie. Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan proved to have more star power than Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel in the weekend’s action movie showdown. Behind The Karate Kid and The A-Team in the box office round-up was Shrek Forever After, Get Him to the Greek, and Killers.