John Wick: Chapter 4 had the highest-grossing opening weekend of any movie in the series so far, but there’s one statistic that makes the feat totally unbelievable. The John Wick series started with a small $20 million budget movie that overperformed at the box office, and since then, its fanbase has expanded just as quickly as the franchise’s world-building. The series’ box office chart looks like a staircase, as each one performed way better than the last. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’s box office intake was around double its predecessor, just as John Wick: Chapter 2 made double the original movie too.
That pattern has continued with the fourquel, and the instant box office success of the movie perfectly represents just how far the franchise has come in less than a decade. There has been so much anticipation surrounding John Wick: Chapter 4, and the movie absolutely paid off. Between its mind-blowing action sequences and shocking ending, it couldn’t have been more satisfying. As a result, John Wick: Chapter 4 has broken many records, whether it’s becoming the highest-rated John Wick movie on Rotten Tomatoes with 94% or having the best opening weekend at the box office. But one shocking stat makes that achievement way more impressive.
John Wick 4’s Opening Weekend Box Office Beat The First Movie’s Entire Run
Unsurprisingly, given its critical success, John Wick: Chapter 4 has been a hit at the box office. John Wick: Chapter 4 made $137 million worldwide in its opening weekend, and that number is made up of a domestic intake of $73.5 million and an international gross of $64 million. Not only does the fourquel’s $137 million make it the series’ highest-grossing opening weekend, but it’s higher than 2014’s John Wick’s entire worldwide run.
Why John Wick 4’s Box Office Is So Much Bigger Than Previous Movies
The franchise always delivers on its promise of outrageous stunts and bloody action, which has led to brand loyalty. That’s mostly thanks to Lionsgate significantly increasing the budget of each consecutive release, and the fourth film’s budget is $25 million more than the last movie. That meant that director Chad Stahelski could make the biggest and best John Wick movie yet. And given the movie’s overwhelmingly positive critical response, it was almost impossible for the film to fail. As the series is now a long-running franchise, along with John Wick: Chapter 4’s nine-digit budget, the fourquel became an event movie that everyone had to see as soon as humanly possible.
Even though John Wick: Chapter 4 is part of a beloved franchise, there were still many elements that could have kept it from being so successful. The fourquel is a violent, R-rated movie, which narrows down its audience and potential ticket buyers. And the film is 168 minutes, which limits the number of showings per day, and the length could be off-putting to general audiences. Nevertheless, the film jumped over all of those hurdles with ease. And as the movie is being ecstatically talked about by audiences, positive word-of-mouth means that the movie could have a small drop-off in its second weekend and even become the next Top Gun: Maverick.
