Bruce Lee’s martial arts classic with 88% on Rotten Tomatoes is a hit on streaming 52 years later. He may have pᴀssed away over five decades ago, but the inventor of Jeet Kun Do, who famously taught Chuck Norris how to fight, remains arguably the most iconic of all martial arts movie stars.
But Lee’s influence on popular culture extends beyond the world of martial arts cinema, with everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Eddie Murphy to LL Cool J citing him as an inspiration. As of 2022, Oscar-winner Ang Lee was reportedly developing a biopic of the late movie icon, with his own son Mason Lee taking on the lead role.
Enter The Dragon Is A Streaming Hit 52 Years After Release
It Has An 88% Fresh Rating On Rotten Tomatoes
Lee’s Enter the Dragon has again proven its power to enthrall martial arts fans, landing on the streaming charts decades after its initial release. Purported to have grossed $400 million worldwide on a budget of only $850,000, Lee’s last completed film was released just days after his mysterious and untimely death.
With Lee in iconic form, Enter the Dragon is now a hit on Max, landing at number 9 on the service’s movie chart for May 6, 2025. The 1973 classic was added to the streamer’s lineup on May 1, and it didn’t take long for Lee devotees to push the star’s most iconic film up the Max chart.
Enter the Dragon was picked for the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2004
Our Take On Enter The Dragon Becoming A Streaming Hit In 2025
Lee Is Still The King Of Martial Arts Movies
Many a martial arts star has risen in the 52 years since Lee pᴀssed away, including legends like Lee’s own student Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen and Sammo Kam-Bo Hung. But the Enter the Dragon star remains the king of the martial arts genre, despite his only making a handful of films in his lifetime, with several more cobbled together from available footage after his death.
Lee’s performance is indeed the highlight of Enter the Dragon, but the film has more going for it than just the legendary star at the top of the cast. The 1973 release is also considered an important film in martial arts movie history for how it incorporated new elements into the genre. The plot is essentially a Bond-style spy movie, with Lee’s character being recruited to help take down an opium kingpin, using a martial arts tournament as his cover. Adding a spy movie angle broadened the movie’s appeal, making it more accessible to non-martial arts fans.
Enter the Dragon’s historical significance may extend beyond the fact of it being Lee’s most important – and final – film, but its continued pop culture relevance is almost entirely down to Lee’s presence. The Asian cinema star’s untimely death made him a legend in the same way as Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and other icons who pᴀssed before their time. That Lee’s own son Brandon also suffered a premature death, under mysterious circumstances, only adds to the almost mythical aura surrounding the late star of Enter the Dragon.
Source: Max
