The Equalizer 3 has become a global Netflix hit. The 2023 action movie is the most recent installment in the The Equalizer franchise, which began with the 1985 CBS drama of the same name starring Edward Woodward as protector-for-hire Robert McCall. That role was taken up by Denzel Washington in a loosely adapted movie trilogy that began in 2014. In addition to earning a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 76%, The Equalizer 3 made $191 million off its $70 million budget.
Netflix has announced their global Top 10 list of the most-watched English-language movies for the week of January 1 through January 7. The success of the Equalizer 3 movie has continued with 14.8 million viewers amassing a total of 26.8 million viewing hours, placing the movie in the No. 1 spot. It has even outranked Netflix’s new Zack Snyder sci-fi epic Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, which has fallen to No. 2 after holding No. 1 for its first two weeks.
What’s the Future of the Equalizer Franchise?
It remains to be seen if the Equalizer 3 cast will return for a fourth movie installment. A follow-up has not been confirmed, though director Antoine Fuqua has discussed the possibility of a prequel either featuring a digitally de-aged Washington or a younger actor like Michael B. Jordan. The prospects of another movie seem strong, considering the fact that the new entry earned a worldwide gross that was comparable to the first two movies. Check out the box office results for all three Equalizer movies compared below:
Title | Worldwide Box Office |
|---|---|
The Equalizer (2014) | $192.9 million |
The Equalizer 2 (2018) | $190.4 million |
The Equalizer 3 (2023) | $185.7 million |
However, the Equalizer characters will be returning to the screen soon, in an entirely different format. Queen Latifah is currently starring as Robyn McCall in an ongoing reboot of the original show. The reboot premiered on CBS in 2021 and features an ensemble cast that also includes Tory Kittles, Adam Goldberg, Liza Lapira, Laya DeLeon Hayes, and Lorraine Toussaint. In 2022, around the time of its season 2 finale, the show was renewed for two additional seasons, with season 4 set to return on February 18.
Whether or not there is a direct follow-up to The Equalizer 3, the future of the franchise seems secure. It is unusual for two ongoing versions of the same story featuring different stars to be running alongside one another on television and in movie theaters. The fact that both entries are successes shows just how strong general audience interest in the property seems to be, regardless of its presentation.
The Equalizer 3
- Release Date
- September 1, 2023
- Director
- Antoine Fuqua
- Cast
- Denzel Washington , Dakota Fanning , David Denman , Sonia Ammar
- Rating
- Not Yet Rated
- Runtime
- 109 Minutes
- Main Genre
- Action
- Genres
- Action , Crime , Thriller
- Writers
- Richard Wenk
- Franchise
- The Equalizer
- Characters By
- Michael Sloan, Richard Lindheim
- Producer
- Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, Denzel Washington, Antoine Fuqua
- Production Company
- Columbia Pictures, Escape Artists
