How did "Karate Kids: Legends" fair in it's weekend theater debut?
We crunch the numbers right here!
Karate Kids: Legends is a martial arts centric drama film. It is the sixth film in The Karate Kid franchise, serving as a continuation of The Karate Kid (2010) and the television series Cobra Kai (2018–2025).
The movie follows the continuity of the original Karate Kid films, as well as the Cobra Kai series, but it also brings in Jackie Chan's Mr Han, who was in the 2010 Karate Kid remake. Merging timelines and balancing everything to align. "Balance is key" - Mr. Miyagi (portrayed by the late Pat Morita in the Karate Kid films).
"Once we were able to line that up, for the Cobra Kai story to lead into the new film – even though they're separate ecosystems – it all made sense for me," Macchio said in Variety. "Then, working with Jackie was just super exciting. I started this on the big screen. How cool is it to get it back to the big screen?"
Karate Kid: Legends chopped into theaters worldwide on May 30, 2025. The film debuted with a domestic box office total of $21 million. Its worldwide total is $48 million, with $26 million coming from international markets. Specifically as of June 1, 2025, Karate Kid: Legends has grossed $21 million in the United States and Canada, and $27 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $48 million. Amongst some heavy hitters that recently premiered worldwide, Karate Kid: Legends landed in third place behind the live action Lilo & Stitch and the final Mission: Impossible franchise movie, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
The film is directed by Jonathan Entwistle and written by Rob Lieber. It stars Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, both reprising their roles from the franchise, while introducing Ben Wang as the main lead alongside Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, and Ming-Na Wen. The Karate Kid: Legends film had a reported production budget of $45 million.
Karate Kid: Legends has received an overall positive critic and fan review. Cinema Score gave the franchise film an A-. With plenty of nostalgia, action, and also fresh and well received new nuances, this film should hold steady in the coming weeks, maybe even staying at number 3 for the rest of the month of June. So while Karate Kid: Legends, didn’t quit get the knockout they had hoped for at the box office, the film has just surpassed it production budget, landing a pretty decent blow.
It’s safe to say that the May summer blockbusters have hit the global box office with a bang, keeping theater lovers and cinephiles leaving their homes and going back out to witness films on the big screen again! With other largely produced and highly budgeted movies set to release globally this summer, the start to the summer box office season looks promising.