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:
- John Wick: Chapter 4, $73.5 million.
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods, $9.7 million.
- Scream VI, $8.4 million.
- Creed III, $8.4 million.
- 65, $3.3 million.
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, $2.4 million.
- Cocaine Bear, $2.1 million.
- Jesus Revolution, $2 million.
- Champions, $1.5 million.
- Avatar: The Way of Water, $1.4 million.
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