The Forbidden Kingdom
| The Forbidden Kingdom | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Rob Minkoff |
| Written by | John Fusco |
| Produced by | Casey Silver |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Peter Pau |
| Edited by | Eric Strand |
| Music by | David Buckley |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
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| Budget | $55 million |
| Box office | $128 million |
The Forbidden Kingdom (Chinese: 功夫之王: Gong Fu Zhi Wang (Mandarin) or Gung Fu Ji Wong (Cantonese) and translated King of Kung Fu (English); Working title: The J & J Project) is a 2008 Chinese-American fantasy wuxia film written by John Fusco and directed by Rob Minkoff, starring Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michael Angarano, Liu Yifei, Collin Chou, and Li Bingbing. Loosely based on the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, the plot revolves around Jason Tripitikas (Angarano), a modern-day American teenager who is transported back to ancient China after discovering Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang. He accompanies Lu Yan / Old Hop (Chan) and Sun Wukong / Silent Monk (Li) on their quest to return the staff to its rightful owner while trying to avoid the minions of the evil Jade Emperor (Chou). The action sequences were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping.
The film is regarded as the first co-production helmed by an American director to make a primarily English-language wuxia genre film set in ancient China for a global audience. Heavily promoted as the first film starring both Chan and Li, it was distributed in the United States through Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company, and through The Huayi Brothers Film & Taihe Investment Company in China. The Forbidden Kingdom grossed $128 million against a budget of $55 million.