“John Wick: Chapter 4” crushed the competition at the box office, earning an astounding $73.5 million in its first weekend.
The fourth installment in Lionsgate’s action series, with Keanu Reeves as a legendary assassin, got off to the best start of the franchise thanks to tremendous word-of-mouth and favorable reviews. In terms of ticket sales, it’s one of the few original properties to keep expanding and getting better.
The first “John Wick” film made a paltry $14 million when it debuted in 2014, while “John Wick: Chapter 2” made $30.4 million at the box office in its opening weekend in 2017, and the third movie, “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” previously set a series record with $56.8 million in 2019.
John Wick: Chapter 4″ earned $64 million at the foreign box office
“John Wick: Chapter 4” earned $64 million at the foreign box office, opening at No. 1 in all 71 of the markets where it was released, bringing its worldwide total to $137.5 million. Its production cost exceeded $100 million, making it the costliest installment.
“This is a superb opening,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Each of the ‘John Wick’ sequels has shown big growth. It’s outstanding.”
The R-rated “John Wick: Chapter 4” received positive reviews from viewers despite its lengthy running time of two hours and 49 minutes and “A” CinemaScore. 69% of the movie’s opening weekend audience was male, and 70% of them were over 25.
“The ‘John Wick’ brand is an anomaly,” says Joe Drake, Lionsgate’s motion picture group president. “The results are speaking for themselves. We expect a big multiple.”
The most recent installment of “John Wick,” which was directed by Chad Stahelski, follows the titular hitman as he keeps up his struggle against the influential group known as the High Table. Regarding a fifth “John Wick” film, Lionsgate has been vague, but nothing is official. Reeves and other cast members will, however, be appearing in “Ballerina,” a sequel starring Ana de Armas.
“What a difference a year makes,” says Paul Dergarabedian, a senior Comscore analyst. “March of 2023 is benefitting from a spectacular lineup of films that have made this one of the most notable [months of March] on record.”