Karate Kids: Legends Flops at Box Office Amid Fan and Critic Divides

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As a die-hard fan of the Karate Kid saga, it’s disappointing to report that the latest installment, Karate Kids: Legends, produced by Sony, has flopped spectacularly at the ticket booths.

Initial predictions suggested that Karate Kids: Legends could potentially earn up to $35 million during its opening week. However, it’s more likely that the film will manage to gather around $21 million over the entire weekend.

What happened?

I’m really let down because it doesn’t seem to be connected to the widely-loved Cobra Kai series on Netflix, as far as I know. What’s more, it appears that none of the original Cobra Kai creators were part of Karate Kids: Legends, which seems like a misstep to me. Another potential error was not bringing back William Zabka, who played Johnny Lawrence so memorably in Cobra Kai, to reprise his role. He was instrumental in making Cobra Kai such a hit.

The location shift from California to New York City is another change made in the movie “Karate Kids: Legends,” which I haven’t watched. Initial scenes show Joshua Jackson’s character coaching a child in boxing, while Daniel LaRusso (played by Ralph Macchio) doesn’t make an appearance until approximately an hour into the film. The movie is only 90 minutes long and rumor has it that Jackie Chan’s presence is minimal. It raises questions as to whether the same team behind the Marvel movies at Sony was involved in the production of “Karate Kids: Legends.” One might wonder who came up with this concept.

Did you know? It’s quite amusing that some trade sites like Deadline are attributing the failure of Karate Kids: Legends to none other than the streaming success of Cobra Kai. They argue that fans, conditioned to stay at home and watch, are the culprits. Isn’t it ironic? Now, I have a few questions: Is there any connection between Karate Kids: Legends and Cobra Kai? Does anyone other than Daniel appear in the movie? And does his family make an appearance in the film (I’m genuinely curious about this)?

Critics and fans divided

It’s quite intriguing to note that despite Karate Kids: Legends receiving a critical score of only 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, fans who have verified purchases through the Fandango app and are able to rate movies on Rotten Tomatoes, have given it a 90% rating. This discrepancy could indicate that the movie primarily attracted hardcore fans. Upon reading through some negative fan reviews, it appears that they were disappointed by the limited screen time and character development, which aligns with what I’ve heard as well.

By the way, I thought you should know that there’s an additional scene after the credits in “Karate Kids: Legands”, and it seems to be the most impressive part of the film. Isn’t that intriguing?

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2025-06-02 00:31