'The Karate Kid' Crushes 'The A Team'!

Eleven-year-old Jaden Smith defeated four grown men in a battle of the 1980s remakes as The Karate Kid soared above expectations easily outgunning The A-Team at the North American box office. Kid powered its way to $55.7M over the weekend from 3,663 theaters for a sensational $15,197 average, according to final studio figures.

Produced for only $40M, the PG-rated film presented a modern take on the 1984 Ralph Macchio-Pat Morita favorite and starred Jackie Chan as the mentor. The setting was shifted to Beijing and despite the title, the film centered on kung fu instead of karate. Sony launched the marketing campaign with a highly effective trailer that used the son of Will to generate excitement with kids while also using nostalgia to pump up parents and other adults. Add in an end-credit song from teen sensation Justin Bieber (with a rap by Jaden) and a much-talked-about promotion at last weekend's MTV Movie Awards and young people were hyped up and ready to buy tickets.

Despite a lengthy 140-minute running time, Karate pleased audiences with an encouraging A CinemaScore grade and even scored an exceptionally high 94% in the top two boxes from exit polls. Females made up 53% of the crowd while 56% was under 25. It was the ninth biggest June opening of all-time and sixth best when only counting live-action films. Will Smith routinely opens summer blockbusters in the $50M range and contributes to his own soundtracks and now has a son following in his footsteps. Overseas potential is formidable especially across Asia.

Opening far back in second place was The A-Team with $25.7M coming in below expectations. The Fox release launched very wide in 3,535 locations and averaged $7,262 per theater. A remake of the 1980s action television series, the PG-13 film starring Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper witnessed a slight 3% dip on Saturday and may not have the positive buzz needed for a long summer run. Reviews were mixed. In the battle of the 80s flicks, The A-Team and The Karate Kid were expected to have been much closer in ticket sales this weekend.

After a three-week reign at number one, Shrek Forever After continued to show off the strong legs seen by most 3D films these days. The ogre flick declined by only 38% to $15.8M which was impressive given how much Karate Kid was taking away business from family audiences. Forever broke the $200M mark and boosted its cume to $210M.

Universal's Get Him to the Greek enjoyed the smallest decline among last weekend's four new releases dipping 43% to $9.9M in fourth place. The raunchy rock star comedy has collected $36.4M in ten days and could be headed for a finish in the neighborhood of $65M. Fellow sophomore Killers fell by 49% to $8M giving Lionsgate $30.3M. Look for a $50M final.

#	Title	Jun 11 - 13				Weeks		Cumulative	Distributor
1	The Karate Kid	$ 55,665,805				1		$ 55,665,805	Sony
2	The A-Team	25,669,455				1		25,669,455	Fox
3	Shrek Forever After	15,770,491				4		210,022,557	Paramount
4	Get Him to the Greek	9,942,405				2		36,400,720	Universal
5	Killers	8,008,007				2		30,261,624	Lionsgate
6	Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time	6,486,150				3		72,228,302	Buena Vista
7	Marmaduke	6,006,704				2		22,285,540	Fox
8	Sex and the City 2	5,438,345				3		84,658,826	Warner Bros.
9	Iron Man 2	4,521,206				6		299,282,390	Paramount
10	Splice	2,942,492				2		13,153,956	Warner Bros.
11	Robin Hood	2,615,130				5		99,463,670	Universal
12	Letters to Juliet	1,693,941				5		46,754,242	Summit
13	Date Night	601,291				10		96,266,718	Fox
14	Solitary Man	369,703				4		871,081	Anchor Bay
15	The Bounty Hunter	351,716				13		66,418,931	Sony
16	The Secret in Their Eyes	347,925				9		4,506,655	Sony Classics
17	How To Train Your Dragon	330,459				12		214,426,381	Paramount
18	Clash of the Titans	329,183				11		161,958,303	Warner Bros.
19	The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo	323,915				13		7,871,852	Music Box
20	Just Wright	320,441				5		20,795,571	Fox Searchlight