'John Wick: Chapter 4' Shatters Franchise Record as It Debuts Atop Box Office

Movie

The fourth installment in the Keanu Reeves assassin series sets a franchise record with $73.5 million domestically in its opening weekend, showing big growth from the predecessors.

Mar 27, 2023

AceShowbiz - Keanu Reeves has shown he hasn't lost his mojo. His latest film "John Wick: Chapter 4" has debuted atop the box office in North America with approximately $73.5 million, a franchise-best for the saga about a hitman on a vengeful quest.

The "John Wick" franchise is indeed a rare original property to keep growing and improving in terms of ticket sales. The first movie opened to a modest $14 million in 2014. Its sequel, "John Wick: Chapter 2", opened to $30.4 million in 2017 and the third film, "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum", previously marked a series-high with $56.8 million in 2019.

"The 'John Wick' brand is an anomaly," Joe Drake, Lionsgate's motion picture group president, gushes about the franchise. "The results are speaking for themselves. We expect a big multiple."

While "John Wick 4" has been widely described as the last one in the franchise, Drake doesn't rule out another potential sequel in the future. "It's more than tempting," he says of returning to the "John Wick" universe. "I'm not going to give up hope there can't be a 'Wick 5'."

David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, also weighs in on "John Wick 4" record-breaking opening, "This is a superb opening." He adds, "Each of the 'John Wick' sequels has shown big growth. It's outstanding."

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Internationally, the fourth installment in the assassin series took in $64 million, debuting at No. 1 in each of the 71 markets where it opened. It has so far grossed $137.5 million worldwide against a reported budget of $100 million.

Back to the domestic chart, "Creed III" rises up to the second place with an estimated $10.4 million. "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" falls two spots to the third place with approximately $9.7 million, no thanks to bad reviews.

"Scream VI" also drops two slots from to No. 4 with approximately $8.4 million, followed by "65" at the fifth place with an estimated $3.25 million.

Except for "Shazam! Fury of the Gods", it's been a standout March at the box office, as new entries of "Scream" and "Creed" also established opening weekend benchmarks in their respective series. Speaking of this, Paul Dergarabedian, a senior Comscore analyst, notes, "What a difference a year makes. March of 2023 is benefitting from a spectacular lineup of films that has made this one of the most notable [months of March] on record."

Top 10 of North America Box Office (Mar. 24-26, 2023):