Karate Kid Stuns With Huge Opening

The two new openers were expected to finish one-two at the box office this weekend but opinion was split on which one would come out on top. It ended up being a knockout as The Karate Kid exceeded all expectations and The A-Team came in closer to the level pre-release tracking indicated it would. Both reboots were questioned along the way but seem to have pleased audiences despite mixed reviews.

Industry expectations had The Karate Kid and The A-Team finishing with around $30 million each. However The Karate Kid shot out on Monday and never looked back pulling in $56 million. The film really didn’t show many indications that it would break out in the manner that it did. In just a few days it has already exceeded its $40 million budget. It looks like the decision to stick with the same name as the original was the right one despite complaints from fans. Families, maybe sick of the animated fare and expensive ticket prices of 3D, really turned out to support it.

The A-Team did pull in a solid, though unspectacular $26 million. The potential is there for it to become a sleeper hit in the weeks ahead, but it certainly was not the summer blockbuster that was being hoped for. Make sure to check out my review.