Released in 1984, the original Karate Kid film grossed over $90 million at the box office, and because that kind of money doesn’t get ignored, two direct sequels were produced, with The Karate Kid Part II dwarfing its predecessor, while The Karate Kid Part III was a complete bust, bringing in less than $40 million.
A decade after the original, a reboot of sorts appeared in the form of Hilary Swank’s The Next Karate Kid, with Mr. Miyagi still intact.
And everything old was new again in 2010, with the Jaden Smith-Jackie Chan remake, simply titled The Karate Kid.
Kudos to all involved with this new project for not using either “karate” or “kid” in the title.