Box Office Preview: ‘John Wick 4’ Targets Huge $70 Million Opening Weekend
“John Wick: Chapter 4” is aiming to set a new franchise record in its box office debut.
The fourth installment in Lionsgate’s action-thriller series, led by Keanu Reeves as a legendary assassin, looks to collect a mighty $65 million to $70 million from 3,800 North American theaters over the weekend. The movie also debuts this weekend in 71 territories at the international box office. By Sunday, ticket sales should climb to at least $100 million to $115 million worldwide.
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It’s impressive that each film in the “John Wick” franchise has managed to dramatically improve upon its predecessor at the box office, beginning with 2014’s “John Wick” ($14 million to start), 2017’s “John Wick: Chapter 2” ($30.4 million) and 2019’s “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” ($56.8 million). “Chapter 4,” earning some of the best reviews of the already well-received pack, should continue the trend. It cost more than $100 million to produce, giving it the highest price tag in the series.
“Parabellum” is currently the highest grossing installment in the franchise with $328.3 million globally. The first movie tapped out with $86.1 million but became a sleeper hit on home entertainment, while the sequel ended its run with $174.3 million. As long as momentum sustains, “Chapter 4” hopes to become the biggest earner of the four by the time it leaves theaters. Regardless of its box office performance, a spinoff called “Ballerina,” starring Ana de Armas, is already in the works.
Except for “Shazam: Fury of the Gods,” it’s been a standout March at the box office, with new entries of “Scream” and “Creed” also establishing opening weekend benchmarks in their respective series. “John Wick 4” is the only new nationwide release, so it’ll have no problem overtaking “Shazam 2” as the No. 1 movie on domestic charts.
Chad Stahelski directed the latest “John Wick,” which follows the titular hitman as he continues his fight against the powerful crime organization known as the High Table. On his journey, he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Japan to Berlin. Along with Reeves, the cast includes Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, who unexpectedly died last week at age 60.
Variety’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman praised the fourth chapter — which clocks in at a lengthy two hours and 49 minutes — as a “knowingly overstuffed gift to fans.” New Yorker critic Richard Brody called it “by far the best of the four films, [and] the first of the cycle that I’d recommend.”
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