JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 opening | Where we are now | March 24 to 26, 2023 weekend
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JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 opening | Where we are now | March 24 to 26, 2023 weekend
Opening weekend box office, charts and commentary
The current weekend: March 24 to 26, 2023
1) John Wick: Chapter 4 opening
- This is a superb opening. On average, action thriller episode 4s start -39% lower than the 3rd episode. Here, the opening is an est. +24.3% better than Chapter 3. Each of the John Wick sequels has shown big growth — it's outstanding.
Critics reviews and audience scores have been sensational for all of the JW films. Audiences love this character, they love Keanu Reeves's performance, and the dark stories deliver. The only softness, relatively speaking, has been overseas, including in Asia:
During the last 25 years, 12 action thrillers have made it to four episodes. Among the other titles, only Fast & Furious was growing at this stage. Even Mission: Impossible 4 stumbled before rising in #5 and #6. This weekend tops all M:I openings to date.
- John Wick has a rare kind of momentum now — the film is surpassing expectations and hype, and that message is spreading. With careful treatment, JW has the potential to continue indefinitely into the future.
2) Where we are now
- With this weekend's business, March has been very solid: Creed III leaped off the chart, Scream VI is setting a series high, and Jesus Revolution is about to cross $50m domestic. Healthy, growing series are very good for the industry — they're like an invitation to future theatrical success.
- Superheroes have shown uncharacteristic weakness, but we've been spoiled. Superheroes have been consistently well-received by critics and audiences. We just had two sub-par entries, but the audience showed up for Ant-Man 3 ($106m, +40% for an episode 3 opening, that's very strong). Fans are still here.
We have three big superhero releases coming in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 in early May, then Across the Spider-Verse 2 in early June, then The Flash in mid-June. Let's table this until those movies hit the market.
- We have our eye on Super Mario Bros. on April 5. That animated movie will be an important measure of family moviegoing.
- Next weekend we'll have complete March and year-to-date box office numbers.