Jackie Chan is one of the best-known actors and celebrities in the world. Whether it’s his incredible stunts or his voice acting, everyone knows the Hongkonger. He’s a legend and has played the lead across at least 35 movies to create box-office earnings of over $2.7 billion to date. However, he’s now 69 years old, with what he’s most famed for – doing his own stunts – naturally becoming more and more difficult.
Chan could have happily retired over a decade ago if reports on his earnings are anything to go by, but even in 2023, he has movies on the way. Chief among these, which has apparently been in the works since 2017, is the fourth installment to his famed buddy-cop trilogy, Rush Hour. Now, both Chan and co-star Chris Tucker look set to reprise their roles in an upcoming movie.
Rush Hour 4 has its stars on board
Rush Hour, as it stands, was a trilogy of action comedies that saw releases in 1998, 2001, and 2006. For the time, and given what’s involved in the movies, those were quite hefty breaks between movies that did very well at the box office. The first made over $245 million from a $35 million budget, and the second turned a $90 million budget into a $347 million box-office haul.
Rush Hour 3 didn’t stack the cash quite as well but still added $256 million to the pile from a budget that doubled its predecessor. This piles up the Rush Hour trilogy to nearly $850 million at the box office alone. Of course, in the late 90s and 00s, home video sales were also a big part of the movie ecosystem, so more was made there. Seemingly a beloved classic, CBS’ attempt at a TV show failed and was canceled within one season.
Given the money made, it’s easy to assume that movie studios wanted a fourth Rush Hour for quite some time. In 2017, apparently, Rush Hour 4 started to move forward, with Chan on board and then Tucker joining him the following year. The momentum died out in 2018, but in December of last year, Rush Hour 4 was suddenly brought back into the conversation. In March, Tucker seemingly confirmed the movie as being in the works.
Chan’s star power will bring in millions at the box office
Jackie Chan is legendary, and if he’s bringing back a loved film series, it seems inevitable that it’ll be a strong earner at the box office worldwide. He’s been immortalized as a pop culture icon by this point, even inspiring games. Among the online casino real money games selection, both Fantasy Mission Force and Eagle Shadow Fist remain popular because they’re drawn from his movies and star Chan in the slots.
Naturally, while there are lots of Jackie Chan products out there, he’s most fondly remembered for his movies. Supercop, Police Story, Crime Story, Kung Fu Panda, Drunken Master, and Shanghai Noon are all-time greats, and you could even make an argument for some of his recent works like The Foreigner as at least being an impressive showing from the actor. In Western markets, though, Rush Hour is his biggest movie line.
If Rush Hour 4 gets made – keeping in mind that Chan is also making The Legend with Stanley Tong – and isn’t snapped up by some streaming service, a cinematic release will almost certainly push the film series past the $1 billion mark.
