Karate Kid: Legends Bombs at the Box Office Amid Fan and Critic Divide

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The latest film, “Karate Kid: Legends,” produced by Sony under their renowned franchise, has unfortunately flopped spectacularly at the cinema.

Initial predictions suggested a weekend opening of approximately $35 million for “Karate Kid: Legends,” however, it’s unlikely that the film will manage to earn more than an estimated $21 million during its debut weekend.

Despite being the third highest-grossing film this weekend, it didn’t stand a chance against “Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning” during its second week with earnings of $27.3 million, and “Lilo & Stitch” in its second week with an impressive $63 million.

What happened?

It’s quite disheartening that the new series, “Karate Kid: Legends,” doesn’t seem to have any connection to the original creators of “Cobra Kai” on Netflix, aside from Ralph Macchio. This could be a misstep, as one might argue that another error was not bringing back William Zabka, who played Johnny Lawrence, to star in the series. His portrayal was instrumental in making “Cobra Kai” a hit.

In the movie “Karate Kid: Legends,” they changed the location from California to New York City. The story initially focuses on Joshua Jackson’s character teaching a child boxing, with Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso not appearing until about an hour into the film. This movie is only 90 minutes long and rumors suggest that Jackie Chan’s presence in it is limited. Some people are wondering if the same team behind the Marvel movies at Sony was responsible for creating “Karate Kid: Legends.” Who on earth came up with this concept?

It’s quite amusing, isn’t it, that trade sites like Deadline are attributing their failure to something as absurd as the streaming success of Cobra Kai. They claim that fans staying home to watch is causing their downfall. This is just ridiculous! Now, let me ask you, is there any connection between The Karate Kid: Legends and Cobra Kai? Is anyone other than Daniel present in this movie? And does his family make an appearance at all in the film (I’m genuinely curious, do they)?

Critics and fans divided

It’s quite intriguing to note that while professional critics have given Karate Kid: Legends a 59% score on Rotten Tomatoes, fans who rated it (those who purchased through the Fandango app) have awarded it a remarkable 90%. This disparity may indicate that only dedicated fans watched the movie. When you delve into the more negative fan reviews, you’ll find complaints about limited screen time and character development, which aligns with what I’ve heard.

By the way, I thought you might find interesting that after the credits for “Karate Kid: Legends” roll, there’s an additional scene that many people are praising as the standout moment of the film.

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2025-06-02 01:01