27th March, Mumbai: The fourth volume in the Keanu Reeves assassin series, “John Wick: Chapter 4,” debuted with a franchise-best $73.5 million at the box office, according to studio estimates on Sunday. The R-rated Lionsgate movie, starring Reeves as the reluctant but not quite reluctant killer John Wick, outperformed past opening weekends. The Chad Stahelski-directed franchise, which debuted in 2014 with “John Wick” ($14 million on opening weekend), has progressively increased as a ticket seller with each sequel. The 2017 sequel arrived with $30.4 million, and “Parabellum,” the third installment from 2019, premiered with $56.8 million.
Nonetheless, “Chapter 4” is the longest film in the once minimalist action series, clocking two hours and 49 minutes and costing at least $100 million to make. With a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, critics agreed that it was a high point for the franchise. The movie made an additional $64 million internationally and had a 69% male audience. It’s the epidemic era’s biggest success for Lionsgate.
“You have to prepare for it to fail when you make the fourth installment in an action franchise. According to Joseph Drake, head of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, it is the nature of these franchises. “But, we continued to detect signals, and it was great to watch the movie they produced. The audience was clearly begging for more.
“John Wick” has had an impressive and uncommon upward trend in box office revenue with each new installment, but “Chapter 4” gives Reeves’ character some closure. Never say never, the actor told interviewers, indicating that he hasn’t fully ruled out resuming the series. In any case, the franchise is expected to continue to thrive. “Ballerina,” a spin-off starring Ana de Armas and co-starring Keanu Reeves, has already been filmed. Mel Gibson’s “The Continental” miniseries will air soon on Peacock.
“This planet was made by Chad and Keanu, and it is still growing. Drake added, “I still don’t know what the limits of that planet are. They’ll keep doing their utmost to entice Keanu to return and take action. He is assaulted in these shows. He does, in fact. He declares at the conclusion, “I’m not doing it anymore.” Then you may observe him at the theatre while he feels the crowd.
Hence, we will keep looking for ways to accommodate that demand. It was also bittersweet to see “John Wick: Chapter 4” come out, which had a surprise SXSW debut. A week before the movie’s debut, Lance Reddick, who played Charon, the concierge at the Continental Hotel, in the movies, passed away suddenly at the age of 60.
Yet, “John Wick: Chapter 4″‘s popularity contributes to Hollywood’s solid start in 2023. The release lineup is more consistent and jam-packed this year after ticket sales bounced back to roughly 67% of pre-pandemic levels last year. Sequels like “Creed III” and “Scream VI” have set the standard. According to statistics company Comscore, ticket sales are up 28% from the previous year. There are certain exceptions, though. The superhero sequel “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” fell to second place with $9.7 million in its second weekend after a poor $30.5 million launch the previous weekend. The Warner Bros. release saw a sharp decline, falling 68% after its debut.
With $8.4 million in its third weekend, “Scream VI” finished third, bringing its overall domestic and global tally to $90.4 million and $139.3 million, respectively. “Creed III” was the fourth film, earning $8.4 million. The second Michael B. Jordan film has earned $140.9 million domestically.
The other new releases over the weekend were less significant.
“A Good Person,” starring Morgan Freeman and Florence Pugh, premiered in 530 theatres.