The Karate Kid

The 2010 remake of The Karate Kid has a misleading title: the art on screen is kung fu, not karate. The 1984 film followed a New Jersey teenager learning Okinawan karate from Mr. Miyagi. This version moves the story to Beijing and casts Jackie Chan as the teacher. Directed by Harald Zwart and produced by, among others, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith as a vehicle for their son Jaden, it opened in the US on 11 June 2010.

One title, three markets

Producer Jerry Weintraub, who had also produced the original, refused to change the title in the US. In mainland China it was released as Gongfu meng ("The Kung Fu Dream"), and in Japan and South Korea as Best Kid. Chan said the cast called it The Kung Fu Kid on set.

Beijing as a training ground

Shooting took place in Beijing from July to October 2009, with access to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Wudang Mountains, the Taoist cradle of internal martial arts. The scene practitioners discuss most updates 1984's "wax on, wax off": Mr. Han makes Dre hang up, take down, put on and take off a jacket hundreds of times until the movements turn into blocks and parries. Plenty of coaches still teach that way: drill a simple motion before showing its use.

Jackie Chan against type

Chan plays a broken, quiet man, far from his comic roles. His only fight, against the teenagers bullying Dre, works as a lesson: he makes them get in each other's way without really hitting anyone. The film grossed $359 million on a $40 million budget, the best result in the franchise. Reviews were mixed (67% on Rotten Tomatoes), but audiences gave it an A on CinemaScore, and it won Favorite Movie at the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards.