SUNDAY AM: John Wick: Chapter 4 shows up for $25.8M, a similar Friday/previews to Saturday trajectory of -12%, as did John Wick Chapter 3. That makes for a revised franchise and Lionsgate pandemic record opening of $73.5M. Worldwide start is also a franchise best, as we always knew it would be, with $137.5M. The Keanu Reeves movie debuted at No. 1 in each of the 71 markets where the pic opened this weekend. Internationally, the film took in an estimated $64M overseas, exceeding all pre-release estimates for the film.

Stateside, it’s Reeves’s second-best live-action opening, after the $91.7M made by 2003’s Matrix Reloaded, and worldwide, it’s likely the actor’s second-best debut after Matrix Revolutions‘s $201.4M global start in 2003.

Other bragging points:

—John Wick joins a select few film series that set a franchise record with their fourth outing, only nine in the past 40 years. Of those nine franchises, only five have done what John Wick has accomplished in building to four films with each new offering exceeding the last (i.e., 4 greater than 3, 3 greater than 2, 2 greater than 1).

John Wick: Chapter 4 is the biggest R-rated opening post-pandemic, exceeding Halloween Kills‘ $49.4M (which was hampered by a theatrical day-and-date release on streaming service Peacock).

To date, John Wick: Chapter 4 is the second-best domestic opening of 2023, after Disney/Marvel Studio’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($106.1M).

Interesting to note that this is supposedly Reeves’ swan song in the core franchise, and the fourthquel opened to more than No Time to Die ($55.2M) at the U.S./Canada box office.

Box Office Analytics firm EntTelligence reports that 5M people went to see the fourthquel this weekend, to Quantumania‘s 7M admissions.

Steady foot traffic through matinees, but also a great turnout after 8PM, as expected for this R-rated sequel. Fourteen percent came before 1PM yesterday, 30% came between 1P-5PM, 31% were there between 5PM and 8PM, while 25% came after 8PM. By comparison, Scream VI saw 33% of its admissions after 8PM.

Average ticket price for a John Wick: Chapter 4 regular ticket was $13.42, while premium tickets went for $17.08 apiece. So far, 32% of moviegoers have seen the film play in a premium format, paying an average of $2.99 more per ticket. Imax reports that at $12.7M WW, John Wick: Chapter 4 is the second-highest grossing Lionsgate title ever in their large format auditoriums. With $8.4M stateside in 400 Imax theaters, the fourthquel is the third-highest Imax opening for Lionsgate in U.S./Canada. Top markets for the Chad Stahelski-directed sequel in regards to admissions were LA, NYC, Dallas, Toronto, and San Francisco.

Back in December 2021, Lionsgate shifted John Wick: Chapter 4 off its previous Memorial Day weekend 2022 launch date to this weekend as the pic’s production was delayed, and Paramount had big footed that release date with Top Gun: Maverick. The first trailer made a debut at CinemaCon last spring, before being dropped during a Collider panel at San Diego Comic-Con with Chad Stahelski, and a surprise appearance by Keanu Reeves in Hall H. Lionsgate had a global screening and premiere strategy which was set to amplify audience and critical word of mouth, the wick for Wick being lit at a surprise SXSW screening with Reeves and Stahelski in attendance onstage.

The rest of the campaign was built around two pillars: one to reinforce that John Wick is a man, not a superhero, whose journey has been motivated by love and a painful loss. And two, that this movie would finally offer John Wick a path to freedom and peace. Everything that Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Vice Chair Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate Marketing President JP Richards, and Co-President Keri Moore and their team devised –from the moment of the full trailer to that trailer’s choice of music, to the hourglass image in the main one sheet, to the use of dogs in both creative and publicity, was connected to those pillars.

Reeves playing with puppies on his talk show tour:

Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian tells Deadline this morning, “What generally happens with franchises is that over time, they lose their allure and appeal, either by wearing out their welcome or under-delivering on the promise of a first installment. When the first John Wick opened in 2014 to $14.4M, it had a solid multiple (2.99x, $43M domestic). But where it became a phenomenon was at home, and once film fans discovered John Wick, they determined that it was the movie theater where they wanted to see Keanu Reeves work his magic, and thus John Wick: Chapter Two and each successive film enjoyed an incremental increase in box office.” 

“The big screen and the small screen can be complementary and additive, not adversarial. It’s the small screen experience that drove the Wick franchise to increasing returns at the multiplex with each sequel. That’s incredibly rare,” adds Dergarabedian.

“It’s lightning in a bottle to have this kind of ongoing success outside of the superhero genre, and if you were to create the blueprint for the perfect box office beast is, John Wick is it!”   

Chart with Sunday figures from studios:

1.) John Wick: Chapter 4 (LG) 3,855 theaters, Fri $29.4M, Sat $25.8M Sun $18.2M 3-day $73.5M/Wk 1

2.) Shazam! Fury of the Gods (WB) 4,071 theaters, Fri $2.37M (-80%), Sat $4.3M Sun $3M 3-day $9.7M (-68%), Total $46.3M/ Wk 2

3.) Scream VI (Par) 3,355 theaters (-321), Fri $2.46M (-53%) Sat $3.6M Sun $2.29M 3-day $8.4M (-52%), Total $89.9M/Wk 3

4.) Creed III (MGM) 3,207 theaters (-270), Fri $2.279M (-48%) Sat $3.7M Sun $2.3M 3-day $8.36M (-46%), Total $140.88M/Wk 4

5.) 65 (Sony) 2,786 (-619) theaters, Fri $865K (-45%), Sat $1.4M Sun $950K 3-day $3.25M (-44%), Total $27.8M/Wk 3

6.) Ant-man and the Wasp Quantumania (Dis) 1,915 (-735) theaters, Fri $609k (-48%) Sat $1.1M Sun $691K 3-day $2.42M (-42%), Total $209.8M/Wk 6

7.) Cocaine Bear (Uni) 2,207 (-480) theaters, Fri $600k (-45%) Sat $930K Sun $560K 3-day $2.09M (-47%)/Total $62.1M/Wk 5

8.) Jesus Revolution (LG) 1,964 theaters (-390), Fri $547K (-43%) Sat $810K Sun $643K 3-day $2M (-43%)/Total $49M/ Wk 5

9.) Champions (Foc) 1,917 (-1,122) theaters, Fri $420K (-52%) Sat $690k Sun $430K 3-day $1.54M (-50%)/Total $13.5M/Wk 3

10.) Avatar: The Way of Water (Dis) 935 theaters (-255), Fri $316K (-39%) Sat $636K Sun $448K 3-day $1.4M (-33%)Total $680.4M /Wk 15

Notables:

A Good Person (MGM) 530 theaters, Fri $275K, Sat $339K, Sun $220K 3-day $834K/Wk 1

The Lost King (IFC) 753 theaters, 3-day $575K/Wk 1

Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24) 607 (-1,026) theaters, Fri $124,8K Sat $190,7K Sun $129,7K 3-day $445,4K (-65%), Total $76.67M/Wk 52
Since arriving on PVOD in its 11th weekend back in early June, the multi-Oscar winner has racked up an additional $16.1M. Give a cheer for theatrical windows. The Daniels directed pic made $1.29M last weekend in its re-expansion after taking home Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

SATURDAY AM: Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 received its best grade ever from audiences, with a solid A CinemaScore and 5 Stars on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak, and grosses held largely steady over Friday night with $29.4M. That’s still the best opening day for the franchise on its way to a series record $70.6M debut.

Imax and PLFs are driving 38% of ticket sales here. In regards to admissions, EntTelligence reports that over a third of the pic’s foot traffic has been in Imax, PLF, and 4DX locations. At a ratio that high, and as the box office comes back from the pandemic, we just need more of those auditoriums, no?

More great exits on John Wick: Chapter 4 show 93% on PostTrak, an 82% definite recommend, the latter which is higher than John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum‘s 75% definite recommend.

The latest installment was 69% guy-leaning, 56% between 18-34, with 31% between 25-34, the latter the largest quad. Diversity demos strong across all sectors with 32% Caucasian (vs. Parbellum‘s 42%), 28% Latino and Hispanic (vs 22%), 19% Black (same as last film), & 21% Asian/other (vs. 14%).

Similar to Parabellum, guys over 25 were the biggest group, this time at a huge 48% (vs. part 3’s 45%), followed by women over 25 at 22%, which tied with guys under 25 at the same ratio. Women under 25 didn’t care, showing up at 8%. For Parabellum, women over 25 clocked 29%, while males under 25 were at 18%. High grades from men under/over 25 and women over 25 at north of 93% for part 4.

The fourthquel played best in the West, South Central, and South. The AMC Burbank was at the top of that list with Friday ticket sales of $94K. Yesterday alone, John Wick: Chapter 4 had 14 locations grossing well over $50K. Average ticket price for Chapter 4, per EntTelligence, is $13.62. Walk-up business is solid, with 59% of the audience buying their tickets the day they saw Chapter 4, per PostTrak. Fifty-five percent bought tickets because they love the franchise, while 47% went because it stars Keanu Reeves.

After watching this 2 hour and 49 minute movie, 26% of those polled by PostTrak say they’d see it again, while 54% say they’ll watch it again in the home market, either through buying/renting DVDs or digitally.

All movies during the 12th weekend of 2023 are expected to gross an estimated $113.1M per industry figures, which is +38% from a year ago ($82M) when Paramount’s Lost City opened to $30.4M, but 24% off from the same weekend in 2019 ($148.8M), which is when Universal opened Jordan Peele’s Us to $71.1M.

Other things happening this weekend:

MGM/United Artists Releasing’s Zach Braff drama, A Good Person, starring Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman, is seeing a $275K Friday and a $775K opening weekend at 530 locations from 102 markets. Audiences liked it better than critics, 96% to 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. Coasts are the best for the drama, especially the West, which is accounting for 35% of its gross in the No. 11 spot.

IFC has Stephen Frears’ The Lost King, which made its world premiere at TIFF, is hitting 753 screens in 144 markets. The Sally Hawkins and Steve Coogan comedy drama was 76% fresh with Rotten Tomatoes critics, 87% with audiences. Not impressive here with an estimated $170K yesterday, for a $487K opening for a $646 per theater.

More…chart coming

1.) John Wick: Chapter 4 (LG) 3,855 theaters, Fri $29.4M, 3-day $70.6M 3-day/Wk 1

2.) Scream VI (Par) 3,355 theaters (-321), Fri $2.46M (-53%), 3-day $8.875M (-49%), Total $90.3M/Wk 3

3.) Shazam! Fury of the Gods (WB) 4,071 theaters, Fri $2.35M (-80%), 3-day $8.6M (-71%), Total $45.2M/ Wk 2

4.) Creed III (MGM) 3,207 theaters (-270), Fri $2.279M (-48%), 3-day $8.1M (-47%), Total $140.6M/Wk 4

5.) 65 (Sony) 2,786 (-619) theaters, Fri $855K (-46%), 3-day $3.25M (-44%), Total $27.8M/Wk 3

6.) Ant-man and the Wasp Quantumania (Dis) 1,915 (-735) theaters, Fri $609k (-48%) 3-day $2.1M (-49%), Total $209.5M/Wk 6

7.) Cocaine Bear (Uni) 2,207 (-480) theaters, Fri $590k (-47%), 3-day $2.05M (-48%)/Total $62M/Wk 5

8.) Jesus Revolution (LG) 1,964 theaters (-390), Fri $540K (-44%) 3-day $2M (-43%)/Total $49M/ Wk 5

9.) Champions (Foc) 1,917 (-1,122) theaters, Fri $410K (-52%) 3-day $1.47M (-53%)/Total $13.4M/Wk 3

10.) Avatar: The Way of Water (Dis) 935 theaters (-255), Fri $316K (-39%) 3-day $1.22M (-42%)Total $680.2M /Wk 15

FRIDAY MIDDAY: As of right now, Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 will be north of its high-end $70M projection in the low $70Ms, after a $30M Friday at 3,855 theaters. That’s easily the best opening day ever for a John Wick movie, bound for a franchise-record stateside debut. It’s amazing when you compare the fourthquel’s opening day to 2017’s John Wick: Chapter 2, which posted an opening weekend of $30.4M.

There’s a lot of weekend left, so it’s going to be interesting to see how high this goes in the late-night hours and into Saturday. While John Wick 2 saw a 4% uptick between Friday/previews and Saturday, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum saw an ease between its Friday/previews of $22.6M and Saturday of $19.6M. Rotten Tomatoes’ critics and audience scores just keep getting better every time you refresh the Chapter 4‘s page — how often do we see that? Its critics scores normally go down, not up. RT critics is at 96% certified fresh, with an audience score of 97%.

Also, can we say that John Wick: Chapter 4 is the best opening for Lionsgate in the post-Covid era.

Here are the social media diagnostics, per RelishMix: The fourthquel has a reach of 452.3M across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, which is 2.4 times above comps of the genre including the most recent Mission: Impossible. Although TikTok is factored into this episode with 72.8M views (God forbid the social media portal goes away, what would Hollywood do?), YouTube continues to be the predominant key performance indicator with 251.7M views, which is 65% higher that the last installment with an impressive viral rate of 56:1.

RELATED: ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Trailer: We Had Joy, We Had Fun, Reeves Has Bad Guys On The Run

The chatter: “Conversation mourns the loss of #RIPLance Reddick, with condolences for his shocking passing as he’s one of the fans’ favorite characters in the franchise. Fans are amped for the return of John Wick, with many hyping their passion for its complex story, thrilling martial arts, next-level action scenes, stylish cinematography and incredible cast, including Donnie Yen and Keanu Reeves. Fans hail John Wick as the modern James Bond and the new Bruce Lee, with fans applauding Keanu’s hard work in action training and dedication. Many are looking forward to experiencing the movie in theaters, ‘I can’t see any other guy playing John Wick other than Keanu Reeves. He has immortalized his character,’ and ‘Scott Adkins living Legend.’” reports RelishMix.

A big win here at the box office despite many castmembers being non-social including Reeves, Bill Skarsgard and Laurence Fishburne. Among the activated cast are Adkins at 15.2M, Yen at 8.1M fans, Rina Sawayama at 1.4M, Clancy Brown at 291K and Reddick at just under half-million.

RELATED: ‘John Wick’ Franchise Director Chad Stahelski On Permanently Retiring Keanu Reeves’ Hitman & Why Academy Must Add Stunts To Oscars Categories

Rest of the weekend box office is as follows per industry estimates:

2.) Shazam! Fury of the Gods (WB) 4,071 theaters, Fri $2.4M, 3-day $9.05M (-70%), Total $45.6M/ Wk 2

3.) Scream VI (Par) 3,355 theaters, Fri $2.5M, 3-day $9M (-48%), Total $90.4M/Wk 3

4.) Creed III (MGM) 3,207 theaters, Fri $2.3M, 3-day $8M (-48%), Total $140.5M/Wk 4

5.) 65 (Sony) 2,786 theaters, Fri $775K, 3-day $2.9M (-50%), Total $27.5M/Wk 3

FRIDAY AM UPDATE AFTER EXCLUSIVE: John Wick: Chapter 4 officially came in at $8.9M. The pic also has a great audience score from Thursday night with 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Don’t be shocked if this film goes over $70M in its U.S./Canada opening with the nearly 1,700 premium-priced auditoriums it has in its 3,855 theater count, and fans’ love for late John Wick star Lance Reddick. We’ll have more updates for you as they come.

RELATED: ‘John Wick’s Keanu Reeves, Chad Stahelski, Ian McShane & Lionsgate Mourn “Consummate Professional” Lance Reddick: “A Joy To Work With”

THURSDAY NIGHT EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4, the most critically acclaimed of the four, is seeing the franchise’s best Thursday previews of all-time at around $8M per industry estimates tonight.

Previews began at 3 p.m. today for the R-rated pic. Tracking had the Chad Stahelski-directed sequel heading for a $65M-$70M opening weekend, which would rep a franchise-best stateside.

That estimated $8M preview number easily bests the $5.9M preview figure of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which turned into a previous franchise-high opening day of $22.6M and 3-day of $56.8M back in May 2019.

John Wick: Chapter 4‘s previews also are ahead of 2018’s Halloween, which did $7.7M on its Thursday night, a $33M Friday and $76.2M three-day. Chapter 4 also is beating the Thursday previews of Bad Boys for Life ($6.3M), which ultimately turned into a $62.5M Friday-Sunday back in January 2020.

RELATED: ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Consumer Products Line Includes Action Figures, Apparel, Drinkware & Fleece Throws

The Box Office Company, which powers showtimes for Google, IMDb, Bing, TikTok and Apple with its Pulse product, is reporting that John Wick: Chapter 4‘s opening-weekend presales are outstripping those of Chapter 3 – Parabellum, and selling more than 3x as many tickets as Bullet Train at the same point in their sales cycles.

Parabellum ranked as Keanu Reeves’ second-best opening of all-time at the domestic box office, behind 2003’s The Matrix Reloaded, which had a Friday-Sunday of $91.7M in a five-day weekend that did $134.2M.

Global outlook for John Wick: Chapter 4 is $115M from 71 offshore territories including UK, Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Spain and Mexico.

RELATED: ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Arrests Austin With SXSW Premiere; Keanu Reeves Says He’ll Be Back With Cameo In ‘Ballerina’ Spinoff

We’ll have more updates tomorrow morning. There’s always a chance that these figures can fluctuate. Late-night business is expected for this fan-fave sequel.