LOS ANGELES 鈥� The box office has a new king and his name is John Wick. The third instalment of the hyper violent Keanu Reeves franchise has taken the top spot at the North American box office and ended the three-week reign of Avengers: Endgame.
Studios on Sunday say 鈥淛ohn Wick: Chapter 3 鈥� Parabellum鈥� has grossed an estimated $57 million in its opening weekend. Not only did it far exceed expectations, it鈥檚 a franchise best that nearly doubled the opening of the second film, which itself doubled the opening of the first film from 2014.
The audience, in other words, is growing exponentially for this series about a talented assassin who never seems to get a break. This time, there鈥檚 a $14 million price tag on his head.
Men made up the majority (63 of the 鈥淛ohn Wick 3鈥� opening weekend crowd. Overall audiences gave the film a rare A+ CinemaScore, indicating that word-of-mouth will be strong in subsequent weekends. According to Comscore鈥檚 PostTrak audience survey, 70% said they would 鈥渄efinitely recommend鈥� to their friends and 21% said they would see it again in theatres.
鈥淭his is the best reviewed film of the series so far,鈥� said Joe Drake, chairman of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, in a statement. 鈥淲e believe word-of-mouth will continue to drive strong business for the film all over the world.鈥�
Internationally 鈥淛ohn Wick 3鈥� earned $35.2 million from 66 territories.
鈥淎vengers: Endgame鈥� slid to second place in its fourth weekend with $29.4 million. Domestically, where the film has grossed $711 million, it鈥檚 now second only to 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens鈥� ($937 million) and globally, with $2.6 billion, it鈥檚 still second to 鈥淎vatar鈥� ($2.8 billion).
In its second weekend, 鈥淧okemon Detective Pikachu鈥� also continued to do well, placing third with $24.8 million. But with the high-performing trifecta of John Wick, the Avengers and Pikachu, there weren鈥檛 very many moviegoers left over for the less flashy newcomers like 鈥淎 Dog鈥檚 Journey鈥� and 鈥淭he Sun Is Also a Star.鈥�
鈥淭he marketplace was so dominated by 鈥楯ohn Wick,鈥濃�� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淚t鈥檚 tough when one movie over performs by this kind of magnitude.鈥�
Amblin Entertainment and Reliance Entertainment鈥檚 鈥淎 Dog鈥檚 Journey鈥� opened in fourth with an underwhelming $8 million. The Universal-distributed film is a sequel to the 2017 hit 鈥淎 Dog鈥檚 Purpose.鈥� But unlike John Wick, the audience for this sequel was less than half of that for the first, which opened to $18.2 million. But audiences who did turn out gave it an A CinemaScore, which could point toward long-term playability.
Most disappointing, however, is the young adult adaptation 鈥淭he Sun Is Also a Star鈥� which grossed only $2.6 million from over 2,000 screens and landed in eighth place. Although modestly budgeted at a reported $9 million, and featuring popular television actors such as 鈥淩iverdale鈥檚鈥� Charles Melton and 鈥済rown-ish鈥檚鈥� Yara Shahidi, the Warner Bros.-released film failed to connect even with the audiences who turned out, 75% of whom were women. It got a poor B- CinemaScore.
It鈥檚 a far cry from the days of 鈥淭he Fault in Our Stars鈥濃�� $48 million debut in 2014, and even the last film based on a Nicola Yoon novel, 鈥淓verything, Everything,鈥� which opened to over $11 million in 2017.
鈥淎s unpredictable and fickle as young adults are, so are the performances of films that target that audience,鈥� Dergarabedian said.
In limited release, Joanna Hogg鈥檚 well-reviewed relationship drama 鈥淭he Souvenir鈥� did well with $85,851 from four screens.
Even with the success of 鈥淛ohn Wick,鈥� the weekend itself was down about 31% and the year to date is still down around 9%, but, Dergarabedian said that this is the calm before the storm. In the next few weekends theatres will see an influx of could-be hits such as 鈥淩ocketman,鈥� 鈥滱laddin鈥� and 鈥滸odzilla: King of the Monsters.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1.鈥淛ohn Wick: Chapter 3 鈥� Parabellum,鈥� $57 million ($35.2 million international).
2.鈥淎vengers: Engame,鈥� $29.4 million ($46.8 million international).
3.鈥淧okemon Detective Pikachu,鈥� $24.8 million ($53.8 million international).
4.鈥淎 Dog鈥檚 Journey,鈥� $8 million ($13.9 million international).
5.鈥淭he Hustle,鈥� $6.1 million ($9.5 million international).
6.鈥淭he Intruder,鈥� $4 million.
7.鈥淟ong Shot,鈥� $3.4 million ($1.8 million international).
8.鈥淭he Sun Is Also a Star,鈥� $2.6 million ($484,000 international).
9.鈥淧oms,鈥� $2.1 million ($396,000 international).
10.鈥淯glydolls,鈥� $1.6 million ($3.1 million international).
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and sa国际传媒), according to Comscore:
1. 鈥淧okemon Detective Pikachu,鈥� $53.8 million.
2. 鈥淎vengers: Endgame,鈥� $46.8 million.
3. 鈥淛ohn Wick: Chapter 3 鈥� Parabellum,鈥� $35.2 million.
4. 鈥淎 Dog鈥檚 Journey,鈥� ($13.9 million international).
5. 鈥淭he Hustle,鈥� $9.5 million.
6. 鈥淭he Gangster, The Cop, The Devil,鈥� $9.4 million.
7. 鈥淐apernaum,鈥� $3.5 million.
8. 鈥淢iss & Mrs. Cops,鈥� $3.1 million.
9. 鈥淯glydolls,鈥� $3.1 million.
10. 鈥淭win,鈥� $2.9 million.
