The Rush Hour series ran strong through the 2000s on the unlikely pairing of comedic actor Chris Tucker (Friday) and martial arts movie superstar Jackie Chan (Drunken Master). The ‘East meets West’ appeal of Rush Hour made it an international hit, with the first and third installments earning around $250 million, and the second movie earning nearly $350 million, at a time when those kinds of box office figures were unthinkable for a buddy cop action-comedy starring two minority leads.
The death knell for Rush Hour was the ballooning costs of the production. Rush Hour (1998) was made for around $35 million; Rush Hour 2 jumped to $90 million, and Rush Hour 3 skyrocketed to a price tag that is still disputed, and could range from anywhere around $125 million to $180 million. With the box office returns stuck in a consistent range, it was clear by Rush Hour 3 (2007) that the series was no longer the mid-budgeted star vehicle it started as. Not coincidentally, Rush Hour‘s decline is directly proportional to series director Brett Ratner’s fall-off in the late 2000s. But now, in 2025, Rush Hour 4 is in a much different place and will officially get the opportunity to rekindle the franchise.
President Trump Gets Rush Hour 4 Greenlit
Yes, you read that heading right: Paramount is reportedly greenlighting Rush Hour 4 at the behest of President Donald Trump, who is reported to have personally asked the studio to bring back Rush Hour, in addition to Jean Claude Van Damme’s Bloodsport. Rush Hour series director Brett Ratner has actually been floating around Trump’s orbit for the last year, trailing First Lady Melania Trump for her upcoming Amazon documentary. It’s been a pivotal gig for Ratner, who has struggled in Hollywood since he was accused of sexual misconduct and harassment in 2017, and hasn’t released a feature film since his Hercules movie with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson flopped in 2014.
Last year, word started circulating that Ratner was shopping a version of Rush Hour 4 with Tucker and Chan attached to return, but none of the studios seemed to bite. Now, Warner Bros. and Paramount have reportedly reached a deal for Rush Hour 4: Paramount will only distribute the film for a flat fee, while WB’s New Line Cinema imprint (which first produced Rush Hour) will get a first-dollar gross percentage of the box office, before other financiers recoup on the film. It is specifically noted in the report that Ratner’s involvement with the film is the reason why no other studio or distributor wanted to take the film.
Warner Bros. and Paramount have been circling a merger deal, one that would require political influence to go through. Paramount’s new owner, Larry Ellison (of Skydance Media), has been one of the most prominent donors to President Trump’s administration, and it’s been clear from both creative and legal decisions that Paramount (through its various holdings like CBS) is courting the president’s favor. Rush Hour 4 would appear to be another concession – and one of the least problematic ones, given longtime fan desire for this to happen.
If anything, it will be interesting how (or if) Rush Hour 4 approaches the series’ race-based comedy in a modern world. There are already murmurs that just getting Rush Hour back on screens, with Ratner back at the helm, will be seen as a sort of Culture War victory. That said, the ‘Black vs. Asian’ cultural humor of the films doesn’t always play well now – but if Ratner gets back to some of his comedic talents, a Rush Hour movie getting meta about cancel-culture is something that could actually be a winner.
Rush Hour 4 is now happening. Rejoice. Or Not. Let us know how you feel on the ComicBook Forum!
