Jaden Smith-Jackie Chan starrer ’Karate Kid’ has kicked out competition at Indian box office by outshining two other high-profile Hollywood releases ‘The A-team’ and ‘Shrek Forever’
The $ 40 million movie collected Rs. 4.5 crore (approx $ 1 million) at the opening weekend in India, producers Sony Pictures said in a statement.
The Kung Fu movie, a remake 1984 classic of the same name, also gained top spot in the US with an opening collection of $56 million.
“The film has universal appeal and has been greatly appreciated by action fans and family audiences. We continue to expect strong numbers in the coming week thanks to the extremely positive word of mouth and the fact that many shows were houseful during the weekend,” said Kercy Daruwala, MD Sony Pictures India.
With a three language release in English, Hindi and Tamil, the movie is also Chan’s number one opening film in India.
“We also targetted Tamil Nadu very strongly since it has a huge and loyal Jackie Chan fan base. We believe this helped The Karate Kid to stand apart on its own and become a must-watch film for families,” said Bhavesh Thakkar, Director and Marketing head of Sony Picture India.
The movie has opened in the top slot in several of the Asian markets as well, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines and is yet to be released in major countries like Europe and China.
Directed by Harald Zwart, maker of successful films like ‘Agent Cody ‘and Aishwarya Rai starrer ‘Pink Panther 2’, has been produced by Hollywood A-lister Will Smith.
It is Jaden’s first film as a lead. He previously starred with his father in 2006’s ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ and as Jennifer Connelly’s stepson in 2008’s ‘The Day the Earth Stood Still.’
‘Karate Kid’ revolves around 12-year-old Dre Parker, who moves to China from the U.S. with his mother Taraji P Henson.
There he falls for his classmate Mei Ying, but his feelings lands him an enemy in the class bully and a Kung Fu prodigy, Cheng. Dre turns to Mr Han (Jackie Chan) for help, who in secret is a master of Kung Fu.
Sony is now gearing up for the Telugu release of ‘The Karate Kid’ on July 2 in India.
