10. Unleashed (2005)
$50.9 million
Unleashed grossed $50.9 out of $45 million Budget.Plot:
Bart, a vicious loan shark residing in Glasgow, uses his bodyguard, Danny, to violently attack non-complying customers. Bart has raised and trained Danny to be an attack dog and uses a metal collar around Danny’s neck to control him; once the collar is off, Danny becomes a skilled fighter who relentlessly attacks his target. Once on, however, the collar turns Danny docile and harmless, with him developing very little knowledge on how to act as a socialized person.
9. Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)
$56.4 million
Cradle 2 the Grave grossed $56.4 million out of $25 million Budget.Plot:
Anthony Fait and his crew of thieves attempt to steal diamonds for a Frenchman named Christophe, who serves as the middleman for a mysterious employer. When Fait contacts Christophe, a Taiwanese intelligence agent named Su intercepts the conversation and attempts to identify the criminals. While the crew gathers up as many diamonds as they can, including a bag of black diamonds, Agent Su calls Fait and demands that he and his crew leave the diamonds in the vault, warning him that the police are on the way. However, Fait ignores this warning, and the criminals attempt a daring escape past aSWAT team blockade.
8. Kiss of the Dragon (2001)
$64.4 million
Kiss of the Dragon grossed $64.4 million out of $25 million Budget.Plot:
Liu Jian (Jet Li), a Chinese intelligence agent, is sent to Paris to help the French authorities apprehend Chinese mob boss Mr. Big (Ric Young), who is involved in heroin smuggling. He meets Inspector Jean-Pierre Richard (Tchéky Karyo), a corrupt and violent police detective, at a hotel. Richard tricks Liu into believing he is simply providing reconnaissance of a meet involving Mr. Big.
7. Fearless (2006)
$68.1 million
Fearless grossed $68.1 million out of $18 million Budget.Plot:
The film begins with Huo Yuanjia fighting and defeating three Westerners: a British boxer, a Belgian lancer, and a Spanish fencer. While waiting for the fourth match to begin, Huo remembers his father Huo Endi teaching martial arts. The story is then told in an extended flashback. Watching his father fight, the young Yuanjia wants to participate, but his father is concerned about his asthma. Yuanjia sees his father in a match with Zhao, who dishonorably won by retaliating when Huo Endi held back a fatal blow. Humiliated by his father’s defeat, Huo Yuanjia vows to regain the Huo family’s honor and pride.RELATED:
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6. The One (2001)
$78.5 million
The One grossed $78.5 million out of $49 million Budget.Plot:
Gabriel Yulaw (Jet Li), once an agent of the MultiVerse Authority (MVA) which polices interdimensional travel, seeks to hunt down all variations of himself in alternate universes. By killing 124 versions of his other selves and absorbing their life energies, Yulaw believes that he will become a superpowered being called “The One”. After killing Lawless, the 123rd variation in the Anubis Universe, Yulaw is captured by MVA agents Roedecker (Delroy Lindo) and Funsch (Jason Statham) and taken back to the MVA headquarters in the Alpha Universe.
5. Romeo Must Die (2000)
$91 million
Romeo Must Die grossed $91 million out of $25 million Budget.Plot:
The film stars Jet Li and Aaliyah in her feature film debut, and follows a Chinese former police officer travelling to the United States in order to avenge his brother’s death. He falls in love with a rival mobster’s daughter as they struggle against both the Chinese and the American mobs.
4. Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011)
$100 million
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate grossed $100 million out of $35 million Budget.Plot:
The Emperor’s eunuchs have gained power and influence; the East Bureau and West Bureau spy and police the nation. They visit the shipyards, but only as a cover to execute those who would try and report their taking of bribes to the Emperor. Wandering hero Zhao Huai’an fights the leader of the East Bureau, defeating him and putting his head in a box and hanging it as a warning to other corrupt officials. The Emperor’s chief concubine asks the West Bureau why they waste time on power struggles when she only wants them to prevent the Emperor impregnating anyone aside from her.
3. Shaolin Temple (1982)
$111.9 million
Plot:
The film is set in Medieval China during the transition period between the Sui dynasty (581–618) and the Tang dynasty (618–907). Inside the Shaolin Temple, the novice Jue Yuan (Jet Li) bows before the Abbot. He is about to be accepted as a monk. The Abbot tells Jue Yuan that he must vow to not commit murder. Jue Yuan is silent. The Abbot repeats the question, and Jue Yuan slowly raises his eyes, gazing intensely at him. The Abbot asks the question a third time. Several years previously, during the rebellions at the end of the Sui dynasty, the warlord Wang Shichong rules from Luoyang and has treacherously installed himself as Emperor of the East Capitol. He is overseeing the bolstering of his riverfront defenses against the rival warlords on the opposite bank, close to the Shaolin Temple.
2. The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
$127.9 million
The Forbidden Kingdom grossed $127.9 million out of $55 million Budget.Plot:
South Boston teenager Jason Tripitikas is a fan of martial arts films. He dreams of a battle between Sun Wukong and celestial soldiers in the clouds. He visits a pawn shop in Chinatown to buy wuxia DVDs and discovers a golden staff. On his way home, Jason is harassed by some hooligans, whose leader Lupo attempts to use him to help them rob the shop-owner Hop, who is shot by Lupo. Hop tells Jason to deliver the staff to its rightful owner and Jason flees with the staff. He is cornered on the rooftop before being pulled off the roof by the staff. When Jason regains consciousness, he finds himself in a village in ancient China under attack by soldiers. The soldiers attempt to seize his staff. He is saved by the inebriated traveling scholar Lu Yan, a supposed “immortal,” who remains alert and agile even when drunk.
1. Hero (2002)
$177.4 million
Hero grossed $177.4 million out of $31 million Budget.Plot:
In ancient China during the Warring States period, Nameless, a Qin prefect, arrives at the Qin capital city to meet the king of Qin, who has survived multiple attempts on his life by the assassins Long Sky, Flying Snow, and Broken Sword. As a result, the king has implemented extreme security measures: no visitors are allowed to approach the king within 100 paces. Nameless claims that he has slain the three assassins, and their weapons are displayed before the king, who allows the former to approach within ten paces and tell him his story. Nameless recounts first killing Sky at a gaming house, before traveling to meet Flying Snow and Broken Sword, who have taken refuge at a calligraphy school in the Zhao state, in a city which was under siege by the Qin army.RELATED:
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