John Wick 4 Gets Off To Franchise-Best Start At The Box Office

John Wick: Chapter 4 is in theaters now, having opened with Thursday night previews. The Lionsgate action movie starring Keanu Reeves had a franchise-best $8.9 million in Thursday night box office figures in the US, according to Deadline.

That is ahead of John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, which made $5.9 million in its Thursday evening showings in May 2019 before the onset of the pandemic. That movie went on to earn $22.6 million on day one and $56.8 million over its first three days.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is expected to do even better, with projections saying it could earn as much as $70 million for its opening weekend in the US. That would be the best opening weekend for the John Wick series.

For comparison, 2014's original John Wick earned $14.4 million in its first weekend, while Chapter 2 made $30.4 million to start. Chapter 3 continued the upward trend, banking $56.8 million over its first stateside weekend.

Not every sequel does better than the last. For example, Shazam: Fury of the Gods recently came to theaters and lagged behind the 2019 original.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is the longest entry in the action series by runtime. Director Chad Stahelski responded to people concerned about the lengthy runtime, saying it's a uniquely American issue that people think they can't get up during a movie to go pee.

Following the passing of John Wick star Lance Reddick, it's come to light that the movie includes a special tribute to the late actor in the credits. Viewers will want to stick around after the credits, too, as there is an important post-credits scene.