“Nobody went to see it, My movie?”: Jackie Chan’s Ego Was Hurt As He Wanted to Quit Hollywood After His $244 Million Movie Rush Hour
Jackie Chan is a true action hero, there is no doubt about it. Hong Kong’s macho blockbuster superstar spent many sleepless nights to be where he is today. Now he is an established actor, director, producer, and stuntman. It wasn’t always the case, however. He was always grateful to the Asian Cinema industry for that and named it one of the many reasons for his success. Jackie Chan has always been grateful for all the love he received from that industry.
So, it is only natural to be upset when he didn’t receive the support he always counted on from his homeland.
Jackie Chan’s reason to leave Hollywood
Rush Hour tanked in the Asian market after being a $244 million blockbuster in the US. The sequel exceeded its predecessor by generating a whopping $347 million at the box office. However, Jackie Chan wasn’t happy with how the film turned out, and the fact that the film was only able to make a mere $12 million in the Asian market. This made him even more upset. Jackie Chan was frustrated and thought his days in Hollywood were numbered. Jackie Chan expressed his frustration when asked about the situation, saying,
“Now with Asian film[s], I am right! I know what works and what doesn’t. ‘Rush Hour’ release[s] in Asia, and [it] bomb[s]. Nobody [went] to see it! Yeah! Only 12 million! My movie? I make a Hong Kong film, and it make 50 million! You see the difference? If ‘Rush Hour’ not starring Jackie Chan, I think it only make half million in Hong Kong. That’s all!”
He is a very disciplined human being and lives by a definitive set of rules. Rush Hour failing in the Asian market was an awake up call for him, that his roots were being uprooted. Thus, he wanted to get back for good.
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The art of balancing two markets
Jackie Chan slowly realized it would be a mistake to leave the US. And thus tried to balance both markets with his charm, and it worked wonderfully. Chan said,
“I slowly realize: Okay, I still have Chinese mind. I have ‘hometown’ mind. I don’t get American culture, American dialogue. So now from that time on, I really listen to whatever Owen [Wilson] tell[s] me to say, whatever Chris Tucker tell[s] me to say. I realize, okay, anything I think not funny means, it’s funny.”
He learned that he didn’t have to sacrifice anything and could have both markets at the same time. The key was to cater different flavors to different audiences. Jackie Chan still remains undefeated in both worlds and continues to entertain the audience equally.
Rumors of Jackie Chan returning for a fourth Rush Hour were floating, but his team was pretty quick to stop the misinformation from being spread.
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Source: The Things
