John Wick: Chapter 4 is continuing the action franchise’s trend of producing movies that easily outperform their predecessors at the box office. With a $29.4 million Friday, including $8.9 million from Thursday previews, John Wick 4 is eying a franchise-best $70 million-plus opening weekend. This is on the higher end of projections, which ranged from $65 million to $70 million heading into the film’s first weekend.

The previous benchmark for the franchise was John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum’s $56 million opening weekend in 2019. John Wick 3 made $22 million on its opening day, and finished its domestic run with $171 million. The film grossed $327 million worldwide, and this should be the only target in John Wick 4’s crosshairs. John Wick: Chapter Two grossed $171 million worldwide after a $30 million opening weekend, and the first film — John Wick — made $86 million worldwide in 2014, after a $14 million opening.

The exponential increase in revenue that each new installment has shown is proof of the franchise’s sustained popularity. The first John Wick was an unlikely hit that took audiences by surprise with its cine-literate aesthetic and elaborate world-building. The sequels have only gotten more expansive and ambitious. The John Wick films are directed by Chad Stahelski and star Keanu Reeves as a ruthless assassin, who goes on the run from contract killers operating under the umbrella of a sinister organization. While each movie in the series has been received warmly, John Wick 4 is the best-reviewed of the lot, currently sitting at a 95% “fresh” rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It also received an excellent A CinemaScore from opening day audiences, which bodes well for its future.

Zachary Levi on the Shazam Fury of the Gods Poster
Image via Warner Bros.

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John Wick 4’s spectacular performance annihilated all competition, with last week’s disappointing Shazam! Fury of the Gods took the brunt of the blowback. After debuting with an underwhelming $30 million last weekend, the DC superhero sequel is looking at a hefty drop in weekend two, and is currently projected to make $9 million after a $2.5 million second Friday. This will take the film’s running domestic total to just $45 million after 10 days.

March Has Been (Mostly) Great for Sequels

Paramount’s Scream VI might even outperform Shazam 2 once the dust settles. The sixth installment in the iconic horror franchise is also eyeing a $9 million weekend. But Scream VI has been in release one whole week more than Shazam 2, and has now overtaken the fifth Scream at the domestic box office. The film is expected to hit $90 million domestically by Sunday, and is currently sitting at $83 million.

Creed III will take the fourth spot with a projected $8.3 million on its fourth weekend, for a running domestic total of $140 million. The third film in the Rocky spinoff series, directed by and starring Michael B. Jordan, has already knocked out both its predecessors at the domestic and international box office. Sony’s science-fiction dinosaur film 65 will probably take the fifth spot with a projected $2.9 million third weekend, after $775,000 on Friday. The film’s running domestic total stands at a mediocre $27 million.

March has been a tremendous month for sequels in general, barring Shazam 2, of course. Next week could bring us an interesting battle for the top spot at the box office, with the well-reviewed Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves debuting nationwide. You can watch our interview with Stahelski and Reeves here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.