Baba Yaga has punched his way into cinemas worldwide in a pulse-raising fashion. Lionsgate's John Wick: Chapter 4 has taken the global box office by storm this weekend, with a franchise-best opening of $73.5 million in North American Cinemas and a staggering $137.5 million worldwide. The Keanu Reeves gun-slinging action vehicle debuted at number one in all the 71 international markets it screened in this weekend, culminating in $64 million in overseas earnings, blowing away all pre-release estimates. So yeah, we're thinking he's back.
The hype train has been rolling along at high speed in the build-up to John Wick: Chapter 4's release thanks to a killer marketing campaign and the results are plain for all to see. Audiences have raved at the film, driving huge numbers to theaters and earning the film an A CinemaScore—also a franchise best—and critics have also been loving the visceral on-screen offering that only Mr. Wick can provide, as the film boasts an impressive 95% Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes Score. John Wick: Chapter 4 started the weekend by earning $8.9 million in Thursday previews and a further $29.4 million on Friday, leading to predictions for a franchise-best $70 million-plus opening weekend and Reeves, along with director Chad Stahelski and a stellar-supporting cast have delivered.
John Wick: Chapter 4 played at 3,855 locations as well as 1,692 premium format screens such as IMAX. The franchise-best numbers were drawn from an audience that was 69% male and 70% over the age of 25. Internationally, the audience was more diverse across the board, but John Wick: Chapter 4's audience as a whole has come together to generate a number of incredible milestones. The film is only the ninth in the last four decades that has set a franchise record with its fourth installment and of those nine movies, John Wick: Chapter 4 is among five that have continued a trend of eclipsing the box office success of its predecessor. John Wick opened to $14 million, John Wick: Chapter 2 opened to $30.4 million and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum previously held the franchise benchmark with $56.8 million. The records for John Wick: Chapter 4 extend outside the franchise as well—becoming the biggest R-rated opening post-pandemic, thwarting 2021's Halloween Kills' return of $49.4 million. In 2023, only one film bettered John Wick: Chapter 4's domestic opening, Disney's Marvel offering Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which saw a return of $106.1 million.
Who Can You See Fight With and Against Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4?
John Wick: Chapter 4's incredible franchise-best opening has paved the way for the film to roll out across cinemas worldwide for many weeks to come. Joining Reeves in the Stahelski-directed action behemoth is a stellar supporting cast including Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, and the late-great Lance Reddick.
Check out the action-packed trailer below.