The term was coined by the American motion picture trade magazine Variety following the explosion of films in the genre released in 1973 in the U.S. after the success of Five Fingers of Death.
[5] The "kung fu craze" began in early 1973, with the unprecedented overseas box office success of Hong Kong martial arts films.
[4] It spread across Asia and then Europe, with Bruce Lee becoming established as the biggest box office movie star of the genre, before the craze reached North America by early 1973.
In May 1973, Hong Kong action cinema made US box office history, with three foreign films holding the top three spots for the first time: Fists of Fury, Lady Whirlwind (Deep Thrust), and Five Fingers of Death.
Sascha Matuszak of Vice said Enter the Dragon "is referenced in all manner of media, the plot line and characters continue to influence storytellers today, and the impact was particularly felt in the revolutionizing way the film portrayed African-Americans, Asians and traditional martial arts.
"[9] Kuan-Hsing Chen and Beng Huat Chua cited fight scenes in Hong Kong films such as Enter the Dragon as being influential for the way they pitched "an elemental story of good against evil in such a spectacle-saturated way".
[21] The success of Bruce Lee's films helped popularize the concept of mixed martial arts (MMA) in the West via his Jeet Kune Do system.