The Karate Kid (2010 film)

''The Karate Kid'' is a 2010 martial arts drama film directed by Harald Zwart and produced by Jerry Weintraub, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, James Lassiter, and Ken Stovitz, from a screenplay written by Christopher Murphey, based on a story conceived by Robert Mark Kamen, the writer of the first three ''Karate Kid'' films. It serves as the fifth film in ''The Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan in the lead roles, with Taraji P. Henson, Wenwen Han, Zhenwei Wang, Luke Carberry, Zhensu Wu, Zhiheng Wang, and Yu Rongguang in supporting roles.

The film originally served as a loose remake set in different continuity and following a similar narrative as the original movie, but with the setting moved to China, and the martial art changed (despite the film's title) from karate to kung fu. It wasn't until the 2024 announcement of a new movie sequel that's in development for a 2025 release with Chan reprising his role, alongside Ralph Macchio reprising his role from the first three films and the television series ''Cobra Kai'', that officially made this film set in the same fictional universe and thus the second standalone sequel following ''The Next Karate Kid'' (1994).

The story follows 12-year-old Dre Parker (Smith) from Detroit, Michigan, who moves to Beijing, China with his widowed mother Sherry (Henson) and runs afoul of the neighborhood bully Cheng (Zhenwei Wang). He makes an unlikely ally in the form of an ageing maintenance man, Mr. Han (Chan), a kung fu master who teaches him the secrets of self-defence.

Principal photography of the film, which is an international co-production between China, Hong Kong and the United States, took place in Beijing, China, and filming began in July 2009 and ended on October 16. James Horner composed and conducted the film's score. Produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Overbrook Entertainment, JW Productions, and China Film Group, ''The Karate Kid'' was released theatrically worldwide on June 11, 2010, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film earned $359 million worldwide on a $40 million budget, making it the highest-grossing film of the series. Provided by Wikipedia