Not counting his stints in the “Kung Fu Panda” films where he lent his voice to Master Monkey, Jackie Chan has not had a global box-office hit since “The Karate Kid,” shown in 2010.
His “Chinese Zodiac” movie released in 2012 did fairly well but not as impressive as his previous box-office successes. And his “Police Story 2013” the following year was a domestic hit in the Chinese market, but not so much in the international scene.
Jackie Chan appears to be turning things around with the recent release of his latest movie entitled “Skiptrace” which has generated an impressive $60 million at the Chinese box-office over the weekend, reports Yibada.
The film pairs Jackie Chan with American comedy actor Johnny Knoxville and opened quite strongly in China despite receiving mixed reviews from fans.
The $60 million opening weekend gross of “Skiptrace” is actually the biggest debut in the Chinese market for the Asian superstar. Before “Skiptrace,” Jackie Chan’s biggest movie debut in China was with the movie “Rush Hour” where he starred with American comedy actor Chris Tucker.
Going back to the same formula
Critics believe that the reason why “Skiptrace” was a big success is because Jackie Chan has decided to go back to the same action-comedy formula that he has so perfected in his movies including the very popular “Rush Hour” movie series.
“Skiptrace” is about Jackie Chan playing a retired Hong Kong cop who must team up with an American gambler in Johnny Knoxville to take down a notorious criminal, which took the two of them in an adventure from Hong Kong to Mongolia.
If viewers would care to remember, it is also the same formula that Jackie Chan did with the “Rush Hour” film series where he had the fun adventures with motor-mouth Chris Tucker.
Despite its commercial success, “Skiptrace” has been met with mixed reactions from critics, with some saying that the movie was like a mixture of clichés with the plot and even the stunts are quite similar to most of Jackie Chan’s previous offerings. There are also those who say that his humor no longer works.
But instead of being dismayed with the criticisms, Chan said that he is happy with the results of the movie, citing that “Skiptrace” is actually part of his effort to showcase China to the rest of the world. He said that he has always wanted to showcase more of his native country’s landscape and culture even when he was still doing “The Karate Kid” in 2010.
The 62-year old actor also revealed that he first thought of the plot of “Skiptrace” around 25 years ago and initially wanted to cast fellow martial arts superstar Jet Li. However, with Westerners becoming more interested in China, he decided to cast a Western actor instead.
With the success of “Skiptrace,” the actor said that he will continue with his current filming model of casting foreign, particularly Western actors with Chinese stars. For his latest film “Bleeding Steel,” Australian actors Tess Haubrich and Callan Mulvey have been added to the cast and they will be joining Chan, Nana Ouyang, Erica Xia-Hou, and Snow Lou.
An actor with nine lives
Jackie Chan is regarded in Asia as an actor with nine lives similar to a cat. He has had numerous accidents and injuries in his colorful filming career.
In fact, he has suffered more injuries than the combined total of all the action stars around the world. His scars on his body are testaments to his dedication as an action superstar, reports the Philippine Star.
But he has also won a lot of awards as an actor and as a survivor of many injuries and accidents, Jackie Chan is actually his own biggest trophy.
Sometime in June, Jackie Chan has also completed filming his upcoming movie “Kung Fu Yoga,” based on the film’s 150-day production timetable.