‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ opening weekend breaks franchise records

‘John Wick: Chapter 4′ was met with critical acclaim and enthusiasm from fans over the weekend. Aside from stealing the spotlight from box office competition, the movie broke the franchise’s opening weekend numbers, bringing in $73.5 million over the weekend at the domestic box office from 3,855 theaters.

The movie debuted at the number one spot in each of the 71 markets it was released, bringing in $64 million at the international box office, with total earnings coming up to $137.5 million since the movie’s Friday premiere.

Franchise records were broken for opening weekend

“This is a superb opening,” said David A. Gross, head of Franchise Entertainment Research, a firm that offers movie box office intelligence.

“Each of the ‘John Wick’ sequels has shown big growth. It’s outstanding,” he added.

‘John Wick: Chapter 4′ beat 2019′s ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum’, which had a domestic debut earning of $56.8 million. ‘John Wick: Chapter 2′ had a domestic debut of $30.4 million, with the first film opening to $14 million, before becoming a hit on streaming platforms.

For Lionsgate, who distributes the films, ‘John Wick’ is one of nine franchises for the company that has set an opening weekend record with a fourth sequel. According to reporting by Variety, “only five [of those nine franchises] have seen each installment improve upon its predecessor in terms of final box office tallies.”

For final box office tallies, the first John Wick movie earned $86.1 million, its sequel came in at $174.3 million, and currently, ‘Parabellum’ sits at $328.3 million. And it’s looking like ‘Chapter 4′ may break that final box office record too.

While the movie hit number one in 71 markets, the U.K. led with $6.7 million. In terms of the movie’s audience, 70% of ticket buyers were male, with over 55 percent of the audience made up of people between the ages of 18 to 34, according to PostTrak.

Does the success of ‘John Wick: Chapter 4′ change the future of the franchise?

“We’re not ready to say goodbye to Keanu with this franchise. It’s what alternative there will be,” said Joe Drake, Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group chair, in an interview with Deadline on Sunday.

“I’ve seen this movie five times in the last week,” the executive said. “I can see the way that the audience moves him.”

On Monday, the executive told The Hollywood Reporter that a fifth installment in the franchise is still up in the air.

“We’re all going to take a tiny rest here and then scratch at ideas about whether there’s a credible way to get into five. But there’s no guarantee,” he said.