Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 looks to hunt down a hefty $65 million to $70 million in its domestic box office opening, a franchise best and more than enough to kill off the competition, including holdover Shazam! Fury of the Gods.
The latest installment in the hugely successful action franchise returns Keanu Reeves as the expert assassin nicknamed Baba Yaga.
The movie has plenty going in its favor: Reeves is as popular as ever, while critics adore the pic. Its current critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes rests at 95 percent, the best ranking of any John Wick title (the three previous pics all hovered in the mid-to high 80 percent range). One challenge: John Wick 4‘s running time is just shy of three hours, meaning fewer show times.
Directed by Chad Stahelski, the film is jam-packed with the usual mayhem, violence, balletic physicality and morbid humor that have come to define the action franchise. The cast also features Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Rina Sawayama, Ian McShane and the late Lance Reddick, who died earlier this month. The film is produced by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Chad Stahelski.
To date, 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum boasts the biggest domestic opening of the series at $56.8 million, not adjusted for inflation.
John Wick 4 will host previews Thursday night and will be playing in Imax and other premium formats throughout the weekend, in addition to thousands of regular screens.
Internationally, the movie debuts this weekend in 71 territories worldwide including the U.K., Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico.
The lucrative Lionsgate franchise has grossed nearly $590 million at the worldwide box office. By Sunday, that number should be north of $700 million. John Wick took in a global total of $86.1 million; John Wick: Chapter 2 grossed $174.3 million; and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum hit $328.3 million.
John Wick 4 is a Thunder Road Films / 87eleven production.
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