It was a great weekend for Lionsgate, as their tentpole John Wick: Chapter 4 dominated at theaters en route to a three-day total of $73.5 million, a record for the studio at the post-pandemic box office. The hitman's return to the screen was also the largest opening for any R-rated film after COVID-19.

Box office experts had always predicted John Wick: Chapter 4 to take in a massive opening weekend haul, and the Keanu Reeves-led action thriller became the second-best domestic opener of the year behind Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which brought in $118 million in its first weekend. The film was expected to generate at least $70 million at the domestic box office, and brought in $29.9 million on Friday, its biggest outing of the weekend, right on par with the projected $29 million for that day.

The massive weekend haul for John Wick: Chapter 4 helped the film generate a seismic $137.5 million at the global box office — appropriate for the globe-trotting adventure — and the film doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon.

John Wick Keanu Reeves I'm Thinking I'm Back
Image via Lionsgate

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'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' and 'Scream VI' Round Out the Top 3

This isn't to say that other films didn't also get moviegoers in seats this weekend, but none of them could withstand the anticipation of John Wick's fourth outing. Second place at the domestic box office belonged to Shazam! Fury of the Gods. The DC Studios/Warner Bros. film brought in a three-day total of $9.7 million, with its best day coming Saturday when it generated $4.3 million in ticket sales. This was the film's second weekend, and despite being heavily promoted by Warner Bros., it continued to bomb at the box office and was down 68% from its opening, totalling just $46.3 million domestically.

In third place this weekend was Paramount's Scream VI. Now in its third week, the Melissa Barerra-led sixth installment of the iconic horror franchise has fared well at the box office, and grossed a three-day total of $8.4 million, down 52% but still respectable. The film's best day was also Saturday, when it brought in $3.6 million. Scream VI has nearly doubled Shazam! Fury of the Gods with just a single extra week under its belt, bringing in a total of $89.9 million domestically.

The fourth place finisher was Creed III, MGM's much-hyped third installment of the boxing series starring Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors. The film, now in its fourth week, was down 46% but still added $8.36 million this weekend to bring it to a total of $140.8 million.

Rounding out the top five spots was 65, the Sony sci-fi thriller that saw Adam Driver battling prehistoric foes. The film, which has been out for three weeks, was down 44%, grossing $3.25 million this weekend to bring it to a domestic total of just $27.8 million amidst medicore reviews from most critics.