'The Karate Kid' revives franchise with high-kicking weekend

By Sarah Sluis

This weekend, one '80's spin-off flopped and another soared. The Karate Kid, a feel-good remake of a popular franchise first launched in 1984, opened above expectations at $56 million. Our critic Ethan Alter was right on the mark when he called the movie a "formulaic but savvy remake." Well-made genre movies

always have an extra edge at the box office, in my opinion. The kid action movie's success will most likely spawn a remake. The original franchise spanned four films and included different stars (Hilary Swank starred in the final one, The Next Karate Kid, in 1994), so a similar future could be in store for The Karate Kid. I also have my money on an uptick in kids signing up for martial arts classes.

Iraq-set action comedy The A-Team opened with $26 million, a more modest debut. The movie was met with a 53% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes compared to The Karate Kid's 70% rating, so

perception of quality could have made a difference. Still, the opening number was high enough that Variety felt the "Iraq box office curse" had lifted.

Among returning releases in the top ten, Shrek Forever After fared the best. The animated movie finished in third place with $26 million and boasted the lowest week-to-week drop in the top ten, 38%. The remaining movies in the top ten fell 40-60%. Get Him to the Greek stayed in the seven-digits with a $10.1 million take, and Killers finished its second week with $8.1 million. Kid-directed pet movie Marmaduke fell 48% even with competition from The Karate Kid, wrapping up with $6 million.

Sundance Grand Jury Award prizewinner Winter's Bone debuted with a strong $21,000 per-screen average on four screens. Last year's prizewinner in that category, Precious, made a splash at the box office and the Oscars, but this movie will be taking a quieter route.

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, Sony Pictures Classics' second Chanel-themed release in less than a year (after Coco Before Chanel), posted a $16,000 per-screen average on three screens. The Lottery, a Tribeca documentary about charter schools (featured in Screener during the festival) opened on a single screen and finished up with $17,200.

This Friday, Toy Story 3 will lead the pack of releases, opening opposite action-driven Jonah Hex.