`John Wick 3` Knocks Down `Avengers: Endgame` with $57mn Debut

TEMPO.CO, Los Angeles - Earth’s Mightiest Heroes put up a good fight, but John Wick put at end to the three-week box office reign of “Avengers: Endgame.”

Propelled by positive reviews, “John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum” beat expectations with a debut of $57 million (44.82 million pounds) from 3,850 North American locations. That was enough to nab the box office crown from “Avengers: Endgame,” Marvel’s latest juggernaut that collected $29.4 million during its fourth weekend of release.

“Parabellum,” the third installment of the action franchise, opened well above its predecessors 2014’s “John Wick” ($14.4 million) and 2017’s “John Wick: Chapter 2” ($30.4 million). “John Wick 3” also hit a franchise record overseas, bowing with $35 million from 66 international markets for a global start of $92 million.

In “Parabellum,” Keanu Reeves returns as the titular ex-hitman who finds himself on the run from assassins. Stuntman-turned-director Chad Stahelski helmed the movie, written by series-creator Derek Kolstad. Halle Berry and Laurence Fisburne also star. Males accounted for 63% of opening weekend moviegoers, with 45% of that crowd over the age of 25.

“John Wick 3” was a much-needed win for Lionsgate. Despite the modest successes of “A Madea Family Funeral and “Five Feet Apart,” the studio suffered a string of disappointments with its big-budget reboot of “Robin Hood” with Taron Egerton, a “Hellboy” remake, and most recently, Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron’s comedy “Long Shot.”

“Avengers: Endgame,” which slid to second place on domestic box office charts, has now earned $771 million in North America. It officially passed “Avatar” and its $761 million haul to become the second-highest grossing movie at the domestic box office behind only “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” with $937 million. “Avengers: Endgame” hit $2.6 billion in ticket sales worldwide, inching towards “Avatar” and its $2.78 billion global box office record.

“John Wick 3” opened alongside Universal and Amblin’s “A Dog’s Journey” and Warner Bros. and MGM’s “The Sun Is Also a Star.”

REUTERS