‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Conquers Box Office With $70 Million-Plus Opening

thewrap.com:

John Wick: Chapter 4” is off to an excellent start at the box office. It is currently projected to at least meet independent pre-release projections of a $70 million-plus opening, and depending on how the rest of the weekend plays out, it may go well beyond that. “John Wick 4” earned $29.4 million on its opening day in 3,855 theaters, and reception has been as staggeringly high as it was for “Top Gun: Maverick” last year.

The CinemaScore grade is an A. The Rotten Tomatoes scores are 95% critics and 96% audience. With such strong word-of-mouth, it would not be surprising for weekend estimates to keep rising thanks to walk-up traffic on Saturday and Sunday, possibly lifting the film closer to $80 million.

Even if it doesn’t, “John Wick 4” has already exceeded the $56.8 million opening of “John Wick: Chapter 3” back in May 2019, and is the highest opening for any Lionsgate film since the $102.6 million opening of “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” in November 2015.

But while Lionsgate is enjoying such strong results, things are only getting worse for Warner Bros./New Line’s “Shazam!: Fury of the Gods,” which is having its flop status locked in place with just $2.3 million grossed on its second Friday.