'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.

'Karate Kid' and 'A-Team' offer action-driven entertainment

By Sarah Sluis

A new Hollywood legacy could be in the works with The Karate Kid (3,663 theatres). Jaden Smith, who starred with his father Will in The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006, has his first lead role in the kiddie action

movie, which also stars Jackie Chan. The remake of the 1984 movie takes the Detroit-bred kid (Smith) to China, where he is beaten up by bullies and must turn to his building's janitor (Chan) to learn a way to fight back. Reviews have been fairly positive, and parents who feel sentimental toward the original movie could augment its performance. Our critic Frank Lovece called the movie "formulaic but not in a bad way" and praised the "naturalness" of Smith's performance, who seems "like a genuinely irritating 12-year-old and not a ham-fisted, obnoxious movie 12-year-old."

Another remake, this time of an 80's television show, The A-Team hits 3,534 theatres and will be duking it out at the box office with The Karate Kid. This remake, however, is "almost comically nonsensical"

according to critic Ethan Alter. The filmmakers "spend two hours covering the exact same ground that the show handily summarized in the voiceover narration that played over the opening credits." Iraq serves as the backdrop to much of the action, in contrast to the more serious, reality-driven movies that have set the action in the country.

The two new releases will have to go up against Shrek Forever After, which has been in first place for four weeks, as well as Get Him to the Greek, which has held strong in second place during the weekdays. Last week's release Killers, in contrast, has fallen down rather sharply, despite opening in the same range as Greek.

A number of specialty releases round out the weekend mix. Winter's Bone, the winner of the

Sundance Grand Jury Prize, will open in four theatres in N.Y. and L.A. Reviewing this "grim story of persistence," critic John DeFore predicted that the "grit and the tenacity of its young heroine will resonate with some viewers," and I count myself as one of them. I also agree with his warning that the movie is "slow to get going and uningratiating," but it's worth it for the look at Appalachia culture.

Documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work will entertain audiences in seven theatres. It's an overwhelmingly positive portrait of the comedian, but critic Doris Toumarkine enjoyed the insights into "what fuels her ineffable drive and what keeps her up at night."

On Monday, results of The A-Team vs. The Karate Kid will be in, and we'll see which specialty film opened high enough to dominate in weeks ahead.