Fans of the famed crane and drum techniques have known since 2023 thatRalph MacchioandJackie Chanwere teaming up for a newKarate Kidmovie, which has since generated a tremendous amount of excitement, particularly given that the saga’s Netflix spin-off,Cobra Kai, ended its six-season run back in February. Unfortunately, what comes next may leave the fandom quite disappointed. According to AMC Theatres, the official runtime ofKarate Kid: Legendscomes in at only 94 minutes.
So, should movie lovers be worried thatKarate Kid: Legendsclocks in at a mere 1 hour and 34 minutes? Sure, it could mean that screenwriter Rob Lieber (Peter Rabbit, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween) penned a succinct yet satisfying script. However, it could also mean that Lieber, who only has six writing credits posted to his resume, composed a tale that doesn’t develop its characters well enough. It could also indicate that some of director Jonathan Entwistle’sKarate Kidfilm ended up on the cutting room floor.
‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Director Says Exactly What Jackie Chan & Action Fans Want To Hear
Jackie Chan fans, you want to read this.
Entwistle, who developed, wrote, and directed the short-lived television seriesI Am Not Okay with This,doesn’t have much more experience than hisKarate Kid: Legendscollaborator and screenwriter, Lieber. So, when those factors are combined with a minuscule runtime for a summer movie blockbuster-hopeful, it doesn’t bode well for Macchio and Chan’s team up this May. And considering all the box office competition the movie will face, it simply can’t afford to come up flat in terms of its characters and plot.
‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Runtime Is the Shortest of All the Franchise’s Films
Sony Pictures Entertainment released a video on Jul 10, 2025, in which Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan announced that a newKarate Kidfilm was embarking on a casting searchto find the film’s underdog hero. Over 10,000 hopefuls tried out for the part, but the role of the movie’s protagonist, Li Fong, went to Ben Wang. Unfortunately, at only 94 minutes, the newKarate Kidadventure won’t have much time to flesh out Wang’s life and obstacles, much less wax on — oh, yeah, pun most definitely intended — poetic and notalgic about Macchio and Chan’s beloved characters.
If fans jump onto Google right now and search forKarate Kid: Legends, they’ll find the film has a listed runtime of 1 hour and 58 minutes, which contradicts AMC Theatres' new listing of only 1 hour and 34 minutes. Did those 24 minutes get chopped, or did the internet just have the nearly two-hour runtime wrong all along? AMC’s official listings are seldom if ever wrong, soLegendsholds the lowest runtime of any film in the franchise. Check out the numbers below:
Runtime for Each Film in The Karate Kid Franchise
Karate Kid: Legendsjoinsthe 2025 box officewhen it drops in theaters on May 30. The Macchio and Chan-led film is tracking strongly at the time of this writing, and its long-range box office forecast is predicting the movie will make somewhere between $45 million and $58 million over its opening weekend. However,Legendswill have its hands full withLilo & StitchandMission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,both of which open the weekend before over the Memorial Day frame. IfKarate Kid: Legendswants to crane kick its way to summer blockbuster status, and compete with the competition, it better feature the best 94 minutes possible. Otherwise, Hollywood might just sweep the legs right out from under director Jonathan Entwistle and screenwriter Rob Lieber’s respective careers.
Sources:AMC Theatres,Box Office Theory
Karate Kid: Legends
