The Karate Kid backdrop
The Karate Kid movie poster

The Karate Kid

1984 • PG • 2h 6m • Action, Drama, Family • Columbia Pictures

He taught him the secret to karate lies in the mind and heart. Not in the hands.

🍅 81% 83% MC 61 LB 3.83 IMDb 7.4

Box office summary

Opening Weekend
$5.0M
3-day opening
Domestic Total
$90.8M
Original 1984 release
Worldwide Total
$90.9M
$0.0M international
Domestic Legs18.0x
Budget$8M
1984 Rank#4
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Cast & Crew

Full Avildsen filmography
John G. Avildsen John G. Avildsen Director Ralph Macchio Ralph Macchio Starring Elisabeth Shue Elisabeth Shue Starring Martin Kove Martin Kove Starring
ScreenplayRobert Mark Kamen Produced byJerry Weintraub CinematographyJames Crabe Music byBill Conti StudioColumbia Pictures SeriesThe Karate Kid
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The run

WkWeekendRankGrossChgTheatersAvgTotal
1 Jun 22-24 5 $5.0M — 931 $5,405 $5.0M
2 Jun 29-Jul 1 7 $4.5M −10.6% 938 $4,798 $12.4M
3 Jul 6-8 4 $5.3M +17.6% 934 $5,668 $21.2M
4 Jul 13-15 4 $4.8M −10.0% 1,031 $4,620 $28.6M
5 Jul 20-22 5 $4.2M −10.8% 1,067 $3,982 $36.0M
6 Jul 27-29 5 $3.9M −8.4% 1,069 $3,640 $42.4M
7 Aug 3-5 5 $3.6M −7.2% 1,099 $3,284 $48.3M
8 Aug 10-12 5 $3.2M −11.9% 1,111 $2,863 $54.0M
9 Aug 17-19 6 $3.4M +7.5% 1,030 $3,321 $59.6M
10 Aug 24-26 7 $2.9M −16.1% 1,090 $2,633 $64.4M
11 Aug 31-Sep 2 4 $4.2M +44.8% 1,040 $3,996 $70.0M
12 Sep 7-9 4 $2.5M −40.8% 1,070 $2,299 $72.9M
13 Sep 14-16 4 $2.2M −10.1% 1,086 $2,035 $75.5M
14 Sep 21-23 7 $1.9M −15.3% 1,065 $1,757 $78.1M
15 Sep 28-30 7 $1.5M −18.9% 961 $1,579 $80.1M
16 Oct 5-7 10 $1.4M −7.2% 948 $1,484 $81.9M
17 Oct 12-14 9 $1.2M −12.9% 906 $1,353 $83.3M
18 Oct 19-21 12 $1.0M −16.0% 782 $1,318 $84.9M
19 Oct 26-28 18 $516.5K −49.9% 537 $962 $85.8M
20 Nov 2-4 17 $691.7K +33.9% 625 $1,107 $86.8M
21 Nov 9-11 19 $596.7K −13.7% 544 $1,097 $87.7M
22 Nov 16-18 16 $535.5K −10.3% 526 $1,018 $88.5M
23 Nov 23-25 16 $582.3K +8.8% 483 $1,206 $89.3M
24 Nov 30-Dec 2 16 $329.3K −43.5% 380 $867 $90.0M
25 Dec 7-9 19 $171.6K −47.9% 261 $658 $90.2M
26 Dec 14-16 21 $116.4K −32.2% 186 $626 $90.4M
27 Dec 21-23 27 $119.8K +2.9% 132 $908 $90.6M
28 Dec 28-30 25 $194.9K +62.7% 140 $1,392 $90.8M
Charts show the first 10 weeks · the run above is the full record
Weekend grossWk 10 · $2.9M
$5.0M
$4.5M
$5.3M
$4.8M
$4.2M
$3.9M
$3.6M
$3.2M
$3.4M
$2.9M
W1W2W3W4W5W6W7W8W9W10
Weekend-over-weekend dropWk 10 · −16.1%
−10.6%
W1→2
+17.6%
W2→3
−10.0%
W3→4
−10.8%
W4→5
−8.4%
W5→6
−7.2%
W6→7
−11.9%
W7→8
+7.5%
W8→9
−16.1%
W9→10
Steepest −16.1%Biggest gain +17.6%

Profitability

Return on Budget
Theatrical breakeven point is approx. 2.5x production budget

Domestic vs International Split

Similar movies

The Karate Kid Part III 1989 · Avildsen $38.8M The Karate Kid Part II 1986 · Avildsen $115.1M The Karate Kid 2010 · Zwart $176.6M Karate Kid: Legends 2025 · Entwistle $52.5M Lean on Me 1989 · Avildsen $29.8M Rocky 1976 · Avildsen $117.2M

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