John Wick Hits Franchise High

Each installment has sold more tickets than the one before
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 26, 2023 12:40 PM CDT
John Wick Series Has Biggest Opening
This image released by Lionsgate shows Keanu Reeves as John Wick in a scene from "John Wick 4."   (Murray Close/Lionsgate via AP)

John Wick: Chapter 4, the fourth installment in the Keanu Reeves assassin series, debuted with a franchise-best $73.5 million at the box office, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Lionsgate film, starring Reeves as the reluctant-but-not-that-reluctant killer John Wick, exceeded both expectations and previous opening weekends in the R-rated franchise. Since launching in 2014 with John Wick ($14 million on its opening weekend), the Chad Stahelski-directed series has steadily grown as a ticket-seller with each sequel. The 2017 follow-up opened with $30.4 million, and the 2019 third chapter, Parabellum, debuted with $56.8 million, the AP reports.

But Chapter 4, running 2 hours, 49 minutes and costing at least $100 million to produce, is the biggest film yet in the once-lean action series. Critics also said it was a franchise high point, scoring 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The film added $64 million overseas. It's Lionsgate's biggest success of the pandemic era. The franchise is set to keep humming. A spinoff titled Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas and co-starring Reeves, has already been shot. The miniseries The Continental, with Mel Gibson, is scheduled for Peacock. The weekend's other new releases were more modest. Zach Braff's A Good Person, starring Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman, opened at 530 theaters and grossed $834,000.The Lost King, with Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan, debuted with $575,000 in 753 locations.

Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

  1. John Wick: Chapter 4, $73.5 million.
  2. Shazam! Fury of the Gods, $9.7 million.
  3. Scream VI, $8.4 million.
  4. Creed III, $8.4 million.
  5. 65, $3.3 million.
  6. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, $2.4 million.
  7. Cocaine Bear, $2.1 million.
  8. Jesus Revolution, $2 million.
  9. Champions, $1.5 million.
  10. Avatar: The Way of Water, $1.4 million.
(Read more box office stories.)

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