‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ tops box office with franchise-best $73.5 million debut
By Carl Samson
“John Wick: Chapter 4” crushed its competition to lead the weekend box office with a record opening.
In just three days, the Keanu Reeves-led film amassed $73.5 million domestically, marking the franchise’s best debut. “John Wick” premiered in 2014 and made $14 million on its debut weekend; “Chapter 2” opened with $30 million in 2017 and “Chapter 3 – Parabellum” pulled in $56.8 million at launch in 2019.
Meanwhile, the fourth installment raked in $64 million globally, bumping earnings to a worldwide gross of $137.5 million. It also landed at No. 1 in each of the 71 markets where it opened.
The biggest openings include the U.K. ($6.7 million), Germany ($5.5 million) and Australia ($4.68 million). Russia, where some releases have been paused due to the ongoing Ukraine conflict, drew $4.3 million following “prior contracts,” Deadline reported.
With production costs at $100 million, “Chapter 4” — which co-stars Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård and the late Lance Reddick — has defied industry expectations.
“When you make a fourth in an action franchise, you have to expect it to go down. That is the nature of these franchises,” said Joe Drake, chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, according to AP News. “But we kept seeing signals and it was wonderful to see the movie they delivered. We saw the audience wanting more.”
Elsewhere at the box office, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” brought in just $9.7 million for its second weekend, raising North American earnings to $46 million. So far, the DC film has grossed $102.4 million worldwide, a dismal return on its $110 million production and $100 promotion costs, as per Variety.
While “Chapter 4” may be the last time Reeves leads “John Wick,” he is set to reprise his role in the highly-anticipated spinoff “Ballerina,” starring Ana de Armas. A prequel miniseries called “The Continental” is also underway at Peacock, starring Mel Gibson.
Share this Article
Share this Article
