On this day in 2004, the martial arts epic “Hero,” starring Jet Li, was released in North America. This film, directed by Zhang Yimou, remains unchallenged by any subsequent martial arts movie when it comes to major box office records. Set during China’s Warring States period, the story revolves around Emperor Qin (Chen Daoming) aiming to bring all of China’s territories under his control while three assassins attempt to take him down. During a visit by an enigmatic swordsman called Nameless (Li), who claims to have killed the three assassins, he recounts his tale in a complex narrative that mirrors the structure of “Rashomon,” presenting various perspectives and timeframes.
Released during Jet Li’s illustrious career as a highly esteemed martial arts actor, the film “Hero” was a massive success upon its debut in the U.S. and Canada, still holding a notable distinction: it remains the last Chinese-language movie to top the North American box office. The film’s triumph can be attributed largely to one influential figure behind the camera, while it also demonstrates that the benchmarks for martial arts films often diverge from standard box office performance metrics.
Quentin Tarantino Was Instrumental for Hero’s Success
First premiered in China and Hong Kong back in 2002, the film “Hero” didn’t hit Western shores until 2004, with Quentin Tarantino playing a significant part in its distribution. Being an ardent lover of martial arts films, Tarantino was fresh from the success of his own dual-part martial arts masterpiece, “Kill Bill Vol. 1” and “Kill Bill Vol. 2”, released in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Moreover, his role in bringing over the Western release of “Iron Monkey” in 2001, added to his influence as a Hollywood advocate for Asian action movies, which undeniably contributed to Tarantino’s involvement in the distribution of “Hero”.
After the successful Asian premiere of “Hero” in 2002, Miramax Films acquired North American distribution rights for the movie. However, they struggled to determine a North American release date and finally settled on August 27th, 2004. Later, Quentin Tarantino stepped forward as the primary promoter of “Hero” in its Western debut, with the film being credited as “Quentin Tarantino presents” much like “Iron Monkey” for its North American release. Furthermore, Tarantino also conducted an interview with Jet Li which was included as a special feature on the DVD version of “Hero”.
To sum up, having Tarantino as the marketing face for the North American premiere of Hero proved to be a smart move, resulting in the movie grabbing the top spot at the box office with a robust $18 million debut, and eventually amassing an impressive $53.7 million total throughout its run (boosting Hero’s global earnings to $177.4 million on a budget of just $31 million). The North American success of Hero even positioned it as the fifth highest-grossing non-English film, holding the number four spot for nearly two decades until Godzilla Minus One was released in 2023. Moreover, Hero’s nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 75th Academy Awards further underscored the positive impact Tarantino had on its popularity. Looking back now, the box office success of Hero stands out as something of a rarity among martial arts films (especially foreign ones) 21 years later.
Martial Arts Movies Are Rare Box Office Successes
Although martial arts movies have gained significant popularity, it’s quite rare for them to achieve blockbuster success at the box office. While the phenomenon of Bruce Lee’s ‘Enter the Dragon’ and the 70s kung fu craze brought martial arts films into widespread visibility on Western cinema screens, their box office influence has generally waned in theaters since then. Nevertheless, there are exceptions like ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ from 2022, which was a surprising hit, and the ongoing popularity of the ‘John Wick’ series among mainstream audiences. However, martial arts films often fail to make significant box office waves, as demonstrated by most of Jet Li’s Hollywood career, where movies like ‘Romeo Must Die’, ‘Kiss of the Dragon’, ‘The One’, ‘Unleashed’, and ‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ performed well but did not set any records. This trend is often even more pronounced for films imported from other countries with subtitles.
Despite the widespread acclaim for the “Raid” films, their North American box office performances were relatively modest compared to others such as “Ong Bak” and “Ip Man”. These often have limited theater showings in North America before becoming available on streaming platforms or physical media. Some, like “The Killer’s Game” in 2024, flopped entirely, while even Keanu Reeves’ 2013 directorial debut, “Man of Tai Chi”, had a short-lived theater run that eventually found success on home media. This suggests that the primary fan base for martial arts movies is more likely to be found in home viewing settings rather than traditional movie theaters.
Martial arts films have often gained their popularity through word-of-mouth among fans recommending new releases on home media platforms like VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming services. As technology advanced, these films became more accessible to martial arts enthusiasts directly in their homes. Many modern martial arts successes, such as “The Night Comes for Us” and “The Shadow Strays” on Netflix or “Cobra Kai”, have been straight-to-video or streaming releases. Stars like Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Marko Zaror, Bren Foster, and others have built successful careers from martial arts films that don’t typically get a wide theatrical release. Foreign imports of movies featuring Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais, Jackie Chan, and others often bypass theaters and go straight to home media as well. Martial arts fans are likely the most accustomed audience to watching their genre’s hits at home due to the concentrated nature of martial arts fandom, making it a profitable ground for filmmakers. However, the rare theatrical martial arts box office hit remains significant and noteworthy, with “Hero” standing as a notable example of a successful subtitled martial arts epic in North America.
You can rent or purchase the movie titled “Hero” on platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, and Fandango Now.
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2025-08-30 19:10