John Wick: Chapter 4 Headshots New Franchise Record At The Box Office With $73.5 Million Debut

Yeah, we're thinking he's back. "John Wick: Chapter 4" opened in theaters over the weekend and cinema's greatest modern action hero did not disappoint. After four years away, Keanu Reeves' deadly assassin debuted atop the box office, absolutely steamrolling the competition — it wasn't even close. What's more, the film actually managed to post a franchise-record number, meaning that each "John Wick" movie has performed significantly better than the one that came before it, which is an exceptionally rare feat for a series four movies in.

Per Box Office Mojo, "John Wick: Chapter 4" earned $73.5 million, besting even the very lofty expectations analysts had heading into the weekend. This is made all the more impressive given that the movie is nearly three hours long and is R-rated. Audiences didn't care and were downright pleased to turn up for the staggering number of shots fired. Internationally, director Chad Stahelski's latest also got off to a damn fine start, adding $64 million, for a $137.5 million global launch. When we consider that the original "John Wick" finished its run back in 2014 with $86 million, that is truly impressive.

The big difference here is that all of that extra gun-fu with that hulking runtime came at a cost. The previous "Wick" films were all mid-budget affairs topping out at $40 million before marketing. This time around, Lionsgate shelled out $100 million before marketing, putting this firmly in blockbuster territory. So while this debut ensured it was a good investment, this entry needed a bigger debut than its predecessors to be considered a hit. Fortunately, everyone is a winner here.

Firing on all cylinders

What Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves have managed to do with this series, given its relatively humble beginnings, is truly remarkable. The first movie flew under the radar to become a genuine word-of-mouth hit that gained a sizable audience through VOD and Blu-ray, leading to "John Wick: Chapter 2" to its much larger $131.3 million haul. The sheer quality of both films pushed "Chapter 3" to an even grander $327.2 million total. It cannot be emphasized enough just how much this sort of thing simply doesn't happen in the franchise world. Now, "Chapter 4" is well on its way to setting a new high benchmark for the series.

In terms of reception, this latest entry is the highest-rated of the bunch on Rotten Tomatoes at 95% both from critics and audiences. The film also earned an A Cinemascore from moviegoers, suggesting that word of mouth is going to be very good. Despite the pandemic of it all and the unlikely journey this franchise has taken, it is now firing on all cylinders and showing no signs of decline in quality or interest from audiences. That's a very good thing, as Lionsgate has a spin-off titled "Ballerina" in production right now, and that could pave the way for an entire assassin cinematic universe. Based on the reception to this film? Bring it on.

And the rest...

"Creed III" actually managed to move back up the charts to the number two spot in its fourth weekend, taking in another $10.4 million. Its global total now stands at $245.8 million, second only in the "Rocky" franchise to "Rocky IV." That is incredibly impressive stuff. But that movie's gain is DC's loss, as "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" took a nosedive in its second weekend, bringing in a mere $9.7 million and falling to number three. After its disappointing debut atop the charts last weekend, it dropped 67.8% with virtually no signs of life. It will probably be very lucky to cross $200 million worldwide and, when all's said and done, could go down as one of the biggest flops of the year.

"Scream VI" also continued to carve it up, taking in another $8.4 million in weekend three. That puts its global total at just shy of $140 million, pushing it past the total of "Scream" 2022 ($138.8 million). If things continue to go this well, it could finish its run as the highest-grossing movie in the franchise to date. "Scream 7" will be announced any day now. Rounding out the top five was Adam Driver's dinosaur flick "65," adding $3.25 million to its total. The film, directed by "A Quiet Place" duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, is still struggling to justify its $45 million budget, having earned $49 million globally to date. It opens in China this week, and that could be the make-or-break market.

Looking ahead, this weekend sees the release of "Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" (read our review here), which Paramount hopes can not only take the top spot, but kick off a new franchise based on the popular game. You can check out the full list of the top 10 movies at the box office this past weekend below.

Top 10 movies at the box office for March 24-26, 2023:

1. "John Wick: Chapter 4" — $73.5 million

2. "Creed III" — $10.4 million

3. "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" — $9.7 million

4. "Scream VI" — $8.4 million

5. "65" — $3.25 million

6. "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" — $2.42 million

7. "Cocaine Bear" — $2.09 million

8. "Jesus Revolution" — $2 million

9. "Champions" — $1.54 million

10. "Avatar: The Way of Water" — $1.3 million