Each new film in the John Wick franchise has out-grossed the last. And the trend is set to continue with the upcoming John Wick: Chapter 4, which is projected to deliver a franchise-best opening at both the domestic and international box office this weekend. Bowing mere days after the sad passing of cast member Lance Reddick — the film is dedicated to his memory — John Wick 4 is also being touted as the final film in the unlikely blockbuster series. At least for the time being.
Heading into its debut weekend, the film is projected to gross between $65 million and $70 million at the domestic box office, and a further $45 million from overseas territories, for a worldwide debut of around $115 million. This would easily top the previous best for the franchise — John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum’s $56 million domestic debut in 2019. John Wick 3 launched in 65 global territories, and made $93 million worldwide in its opening weekend. This means that if the projections hold true, John Wick 4 will break three opening weekend box office records for the series. John Wick 4 will debut in over 3,800 domestic theaters this Friday, after soft-launching at 3 pm on Thursday. The film will simultaneously debut in 71 territories worldwide including the U.K., Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico.
John Wick 3 finished its theatrical run with $171 million domestically, and $328 million worldwide. This was a significant improvement over John Wick: Chapter 2, which grossed $92 million domestically and $171 million worldwide. The second film opened to $30 million, which itself was twice as much as the $14 million that the first John Wick made in its debut weekend. The first film tapped out with $88 million worldwide, which isn’t a remarkable number, but there was a clear sense that audiences were impressed with what they saw, and were interested in seeing more.
Starring Keanu Reeves as a legendary assassin, the first John Wick film was hardly expected to spawn a franchise when it was released nearly a decade ago. Viewers expecting B-movie schlock were surprised to discover a cine-literate film with overt nods to samurai epics, New Hollywood revenge films, classic Westerns, and film noir. The series also re-established Reeves as a movie star, and has received particular praised for its dense world-building and slickly choreographed action. John Wick 4 is currently the best-reviewed film in the series, according to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Collider’s own Ross Bonaime wrote that it is the most “ambitious, goofy and thrilling” film in the franchise.
Each film has been directed by Chad Stahelski, although the first one had David Leitch as an uncredited co-director. The franchise will continue with a television spinoff titled The Continental, and Ballerina, a feature film centered around a new assassin, played by Ana de Armas. John Wick 4 also stars returning actors Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburne, and new cast members Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, Scott Adkins and Shamier Anderson. You can watch our interview with Reeves here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.