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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Karate Kid: Legends' to close out May with a box-office boost, but ‘Lilo & Stitch' stays on top
After a record-breaking Memorial Day at the box office, the month of May closes with one final boost as Sony's Karate Kid: Legends hits theaters as the top new release for the weekend spanning May 30–June 1. The sixth installment of the nostalgic franchise introduces Ben Wang as Li Fong, a young kung fu prodigy and the great-nephew of Mr. Han (Jackie Chan). After moving to New York City with his mother, Li finds himself unwittingly pulled into a dangerous world of underground fighters and thugs. With the intervention of his great-uncle Mr. Han — and legendary ally Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) — Li is inspired to enter the highly anticipated Five Boroughs Tournament. More from GoldDerby Taylor Swift gets her music back, Ariana Grande will 'Meet the Parents,' 'King of the Hill' gets premiere date, and more of today's top stories 'Every beat is meticulously crafted': 6 'Purpose' Tony nominees offer an oral history of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama 'Severance,' 'Sinners,' '28 Years Later' scare up major wins at the 2025 Golden Trailer Awards Karate Kid: Legends is projected to debut with $25 million to $30 million at the box office. However, that won't to be enough to overtake last weekend's champions: Disney's Lilo & Stitch and Paramount's Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, which are expected to bring in $60 million and $30 million, respectively, over the upcoming weekend. The top-earning movie in the franchise remains 2010's The Karate Kid reboot starring Jaden Smith, which opened with an impressive $55 million and went on to gross $359 million worldwide. Other newcomers this weekend include A24's Bring Her Back, an Australian horror thriller expected to debut with around $6 million, and Wes Anderson's latest star-studded comedy, The Phoenician Scheme, which will open in limited theaters. Gold Derby readers predict that Lilo & Stitch will win the May 30-June 1 weekend with between $50 million and $75 million domestically. Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning is the runner-up selection of our oddsmakers. NEW RELEASES Director: Jonathan Entwistle Distributor: Sony Pictures After kung fu prodigy Li Fong relocates to New York City, he attracts unwanted attention from a local karate champion and embarks on a journey to enter the ultimate karate competition with the help of Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso. The family-friendly action movie, starring Ralph Macchio, Jackie Chan, and Ben Wang, has a running time of one hour, 34 minutes, and is rated PG-13. Karate Kid: Legends is certified "rotten" with a 55 percent score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; "mixed" reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 53 percent. Director: Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou Distributor: A24 A brother and sister uncover a terrifying ritual at the secluded home of their new foster mother. The horror flick, starring Billy Barratt, Sally Hawkins, and Sora Wong, has a running time of one hour, 44 minutes, and is rated R. Bring Her Back is certified "fresh" with a 88 percent score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; "generally favorable" reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 75 percent. The Phoenician Scheme Director: Wes Anderson Distributor: Focus Features Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins. The action-comedy, starring Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, and Michael Cera, has a running time of one hour, 41 minutes, and is rated PG-13. The Phoenician Scheme is certified "fresh" with a 77 percent score per the aggregated critic reviews at Rotten Tomatoes; "generally favorable" reviews compiled by Metacritic resulted in an overall score of 71 percent. BOX-OFFICE PREDICTIONS Despite steep declines following last weekend's record-breaking surge, Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning are expected to retain the top two spots at the box office, with Karate Kid: Legends landing comfortably in third. In fourth place, Final Destination Bloodlines is likely to capitalize on its holdover appeal, earning around $10 million in its third weekend. Meanwhile, newcomer Bring Her Back will compete with two of the summer's biggest hits — Sinners and Thunderbolts — for fifth place. Initially projected to earn $6 million, many forecasters now believe Bring Her Back could surpass expectations, fueled by glowing reviews and the enduring popularity of the horror genre. Here are Gold Derby's predictions box-office rankings for the top five: 1. Lilo & Stitch 2. Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning 3. Karate Kid: Legends 4. Final Destination Bloodlines 5. Bring Her Back Do you agree or disagree with those rankings? Make your predictions right now — it's fun and easy! Join the box-office discussion in our forums. Best of GoldDerby Marilyn Monroe movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best Clint Eastwood movies: 20 greatest films ranked worst to best Morgan Freeman movies: 15 greatest films ranked worst to best Click here to read the full article.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Karate Kid: Legends' movie review: Jackie Chan and Ben Wang star in sweet, ‘80s-style martial arts drama
As Rod Stewart's raspy voice croons, 'If you want my body, and you think I'm sexy,' with that disco drumbeat, you know you are in for a good time in Karate Kid: Legends, the sixth movie in the franchise. Karate Kid: Legends (English) Director: Jonathan Entwistle Starring: Jackie Chan, Ben Wang, Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Wyatt Oleff, Aramis Knight, Ralph Macchio Runtime: 94 minutes Storyline: A teenager moves from Beijing to New York, finds a friend, crosses paths with a bully and makes it all right in a karate tournament It has been a long wait from 2010's The Karate Kid starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Karate Kid: Legends is in the same universe as the series, Cobra Kai, which concluded this (2025) February. Li Fong (Ben Wang) is a quiet and sensitive teenager hiding out in his great uncle, Mr. Han's (Chan) Kung Fu's school, in Beijing. His mother, Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen), is against her son learning Kung Fu after her son, Li's elder brother, was killed by a rival. She takes up a job in New York for a new start. Li finds it difficult to make friends in his new school, in the new city and country. He is helped by Mia (Sadie Stanley), who runs a traditional Italian pizzeria with her father, Victor (Joshua Jackson). Li learns that Victor owes money to a wicked loan shark, O'Shea (Tim Rozon). O'Shea is twice as horrid as he runs the Demolition dojo and is Conor's (Aramis Knight) Karate sensei. Conor is Mia's nasty boyfriend and all round bad guy. Victor was a boxer who hung up his gloves after Mia was born. In a bid to make money to pay back O'Shea, Victor plans a comeback and after seeing Li's fighting skills, asks him to teach some of his cool 'flowing water not stone' moves. There is a comforting predictability about Karate Kid: Legends. You know the first fight when the hero will be knocked down, the antagonist will use illegal means to win, the training montage and the wisdom of the ages delivered by old timers, this time Mr Han and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio from the earlier movies and Kobra Kai). There is the big fight, the Five Boroughs Tournament, the run up to the final fight as well as the beats of the last fight where the lead character is beaten to the ground only to rise up from the ashes of defeat to the golden glow of victory. ALSO READ:'The Last of Us' Season 2 finale review: A somewhat jumbled set-up for Season 3 The fights are well choreographed without being too bloody and it is lovely seeing Jackie Chan do his stuff with his impish smile. The Big Apple looks charming with all those wide shots showing the soaring skyscrapers. Li's training at his tutor's Alan (Wyatt Oleff) rooftop garden is dreamy. The Five Boroughs Tournament final fought atop a skyscraper is cool too. William Zabka, who played the antagonist, Johnny, from the earlier movies and series, makes an appearance at the end for some more retro fun. Entirely predictable and eminently watchable, Karate Kid: Legends delivers on its promises without overstaying a minute of its welcome. Now, if only there would be theatrical re-runs of Jackie Chan's Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, Drunken Master or Project A, that would be bliss indeed. Karate Kid: Legends is currently running in theatres
Time of India
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Karate Kid: Legends Movie Review: Delivers just the right kick of nostalgia and action
Story: The sixth instalment in the Karate Kid franchise follows Xiao Li, aka Li Fong (Ben Wang), who vows never to fight again after an opponent fatally stabs his kung fu champ brother. Relocating from Beijing to New York with his mother, Li finds himself drawn back into the ring—first to train a washed-up boxing champion, then to enter a martial arts championship to confront his past and stand by his new friends. Will he keep his promise, or fight once more? Review: The new addition to the popular franchise, following 2010's Karate Kid, retrofits the original storyline with two fresh elements. First, it blends kung fu with boxing as Li trains a much older Victor Lipani (Joshua Jackson), a pizzeria owner and former boxing champ. Then, it builds towards a fighting style that merges kung fu and karate. This setup paves the way for engaging training sequences — made even more exciting by the return of shifu Han (Jackie Chan) from Li's Beijing dojo and Sensei Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) of the Japanese Miyagi school, once led by the late Nariyoshi Keisuke Miyagi (Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita). At 95 minutes, the narrative moves at a brisk pace, which can sometimes feel a bit too frantic as it juggles multiple threads—Li's budding romance with Mia (Sadie Stanley), training her father, Victor, and preparing for the final showdown with her ex, Conor (Aramis Knight), the undefeated Five Boroughs Tournament champion. Kung fu and karate are known for their focus on discipline, but the new movie prioritises technique, which makes the balance feel slightly off. However, the steady stream of well-executed action sequences more than makes up for these narrative detours. What stands out right away is the film's old-school charm. While most reboots lean on updating the story to reflect contemporary society, Karate Kid: Legends opts for a stripped-down, classic approach that echoes the spirit of the 1984 original, The Karate Kid. That said, the plot often feels simplistic and leans on tropes — like Li freezing while his brother is attacked, and later, when Victor is defeated by an illegal move during the fight. Ben Wang delivers a standout performance, impressing with his nimble-footed action. Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio (the original Karate Kid) share an easy, engaging chemistry as the 'two branches of one tree,' and their playful bickering and one-upmanship while training Li is a delight to watch. Aramis Knight has limited screen time, but makes a strong impact as a formidable and menacing opponent. Keep an eye out for the 'dragon kick'—a signature move that recurs throughout the film and is executed with remarkable finesse. Karate Kid: Legends is a fun and exciting watch, packed with well-choreographed martial arts sequences, a tight narrative, and strong performances—especially for fans of the franchise. It delivers just the right kick of nostalgia and action.
UPI
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- UPI
Movie review: 'Karate Kid: Legends' is false advertising
1 of 5 | From left, Jackie Chan, Ben Wang and Ralph Macchio star in "Karate Kid: Legends," in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment LOS ANGELES, May 28 (UPI) -- Karate Kid: Legends, in theaters Friday, promises the merging of two Karate Kid worlds. Unfortunately, original star Ralph Macchio doesn't show up for 55 minutes and the film rushes through all the moments fans were waiting for, along with everything else. Jackie Chan returns as Shifu Han from the 2010 Karate Kid remake. Han has a student in his Beijing dojo named Li Fong (Ben Wang), whose mother, Dr. Fong, (Ming-Na Wen) takes a job in New York and forbids Li to fight, or even practice, martial arts. In New York, Li meets Mia (Sadie Stanley) working at her father, Victor's (Joshua Jackson) pizza restaurant. Mia's ex, Conor Day (Aramis Knight), trains at a mixed martial arts gym where Victor owes the owner money. Conor bullies Li just for being friends with Mia. Karate Kid: Legends is much more about Li's relationship with Victor than with Daniel LaRusso (Macchio). Li uses Kung Fu he learned from Han to defend Victor against thugs from the gym's loan shark. Victor is impressed and asks Li to teach him moves for the upcoming boxing match he entered in hope of paying off his debt and keeping the restaurant open. Making the new Karate Kid a teacher is an interesting twist, especially when he has to hide it from his mother. A child teaching an adult fighter is the most original idea Karate Kid: Legends brings to the series. Unfortunately, the movie wants to do so much, it rushes through this relationship and its training montages, never exploring the pressure this puts on Li or the inversion of authority roles. The film rushes through all the more familiar plot elements too, such as breezing through Li and Mia's relationship. Wang and Stanley are charismatic young performers saddled with scenes and dialogue that are contrived to be unnaturally adult, especially when teenager Mia has an unusually mature perspective on her relationship with Conor. Meanwhile, Conor is just a rage machine who already lost Mia before he ever met Li. The film only shows Li spend one day in school, though another rushed subplot shows Li studying with a calculus tutor (Wyatt Oleff). The movie teases the reason Li no longer has an older brother when it is completely obvious the reason is martial arts. Dr. Fong said she already lost one son and Li has flashbacks to training with his older brother Bo (Yankei Ge), who is no longer in the picture. Bo's fate is not a surprise so should not be milked as such. Still, the film can't decide whether Li is eager to use his martial arts or paralyzed with fear because of this traumatic event. 50 minutes into the movie, Han visits New York himself and decides to enroll Li in the Five Boroughs Tournament, the New York equivalent of The Karate Kid's All-Valley Karate Tournament. This is a rather reprehensible act considering Dr. Fong's objection. A mother has every right to forbid her teenage son from competing in an MMA fight and Han shows up to not only enable it but encourage Li. Han gives lip service to the idea that one tragedy should not make the rest of the family give up on martial arts, which ostensibly teaches positive qualities. That needs more nuance to justify training a teenager for hand-to-hand combat, a nuance the original films and the series Cobra Kai addressed. Karate Kid: Legends is much more of a Jackie Chan movie than a Karate Kid movie. Li's fights and training of Victor are choreographed by Xiangyang Xu and executed by the Jackie Chan Stunt Team, clearly influenced by Chan himself, utilizing pots and pans or fire escapes in the choreography. Chan-inspired movement is always captivating, even if it is not particularly well shot in Legends, with the camera often too close to see the entire move and cut together choppily. It's still an American Jackie Chan movie so it compromises what is great about his Hong Kong films. Chan also finds moments to ham up his comedy, which livens up moments but is inconsistent with the 2010 film, in which he played Mr. Han dramatically. Three-quarters of the way into a review seems the appropriate time to discuss Daniel LaRusso, because it is 55 minutes into the film when Han visits California to ask Mr. Miyagi's best student to help him train Li for the Five Boroughs Tournament. Daniel only vaguely alludes to his life post Cobra Kai so as not to contradict anything in the series or potential spinoffs. His reasons for deciding to fly to New York after all are equally vague. He mentions wanting to pass Miyagi's lessons on to as many new students as possible, which is why Daniel should have jumped at the opportunity Han was offering immediately. Macchio and Chan have good chemistry in the brief scenes in which they are training Li, so it is a shame the film does not devote much time to exactly what Karate Kid fans, and martial arts fans in general, came to see. Legends also retcons Mr. Miyagi adding a story about the Han family to his speech about the origins of Miyagi-Do from Karate Kid Part II. Though only audio, they either cast a soundalike or used AI to achieve this spurious connection. There's also an absolutely laughable Photoshop job of 1985-era Jackie Chan with 1985-era Pat Morita. Given Macchio's amenability to reprising his role in another movie, it is a shame the script could not find a more meaningful way to incorporate his character. Along with Daniel, Karate Kid: Legends underdevelops the very kid in the title as well. Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
