The Karate Kid garners Rs. 45 million In India

Hollywood films often do good business in the Indian theaters. The martial art film The Karate Kid of Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith has followed the trend earning a whooping Rs.4.5 crore (Rs.45 million) in its initial weekend here. In India, the Sony Pictures' movie has released it in three languages- Hindi, English and Tamil. The movie has already topped the US box office this weekend with $56 million. On July 2, the film will also release its Telugu version.

In a press statement, Sony Pictures' managing director, Kercy Daruwala said, “With its universal appeal, The Karate Kid has been able to get appreciation from both the action fans and the family audiences. Many shows have gone houseful this weekend due to the extremely positive word of mouth. With such a response, we expect a good number in the coming week too."

On the promotional ground, the director-marketing Bhavesh Thakkar said, “As the story has a kid in the lead role and the summer vacation is on, we thought to target them more aggressively. Moreover, Tamil Nadu has a huge fan of Jackie Chan, so we targeted that state even more."

Apart from India, the movie has got a great opening in other Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Philippines. The Karate Kid is yet to release in Europe and China. Jaden"s superstar father Will Smith has produced the movie directed by Harald Zwart. It is a remake of a film of 1984 with the same title.

The story of The Karate Kid deals with a Detroit-based 12-year-old boy Dre Parker. The kid relocates to China with his mother, who has a job there. But, he feels very lonely, when he joins a school. His classmates keep bullying him. Then he makes friendship with the ageing maintenance man Mr. Han, a Kung Fu master, who teaches him the art of self defense through kung-fu.