'John wick: chapter 3' puts Keanu Reeves back on top at the box office

Brooks Barnes

May 20, 2019 12:00 AM

LOS ANGELES — The third “John Wick” movie arrived to stronger-than-expected ticket sales, returning Keanu Reeves to the top of the box-office chart for the first time in 11 years and giving Lionsgate a much-needed shot in the arm.

'John wick chapter 3' puts Keanu Reeves back on top at the box office

“John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum,” which finds the title’s super-assassin (Reeves) on the run from other contract killers, collected about $57 million at theaters in the United States and Canada over the weekend, according to comScore. The R-rated Lionsgate series has grown remarkably more powerful with each installment: “John Wick: Chapter 2” had $30 million in initial ticket sales in 2017, improving on the $15 million that “John Wick” collected over its first three days in 2014.

Lionsgate said Sunday that “John Wick: Chapter 3” collected an additional $35 million in partial release overseas. The film received strong reviews from most critics. David Gross, who runs Franchise Entertainment Research, said the results put the series “on outstanding footing going forward” and said it was now “an elite action thriller franchise.”

“John Wick: Chapter 3,” which stars Halle Berry in a supporting role, cost an estimated $75 million to make and roughly $40 million to market. The last time Reeves had a No. 1 opening was in 2008 with “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

Two other new wide-release movies sputtered in their debuts. “A Dog’s Journey,” an Amblin sequel that was released by Universal, collected $8 million in North America, or about 56 percent less than “A Dog’s Purpose” had in its first weekend in 2017. (“A Dog’s Purpose” was a surprise hit, taking in a total of $205 million.)

“The Sun Is Also a Star,” a low-budget romantic drama starring Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton, was booked into more than 2,000 theaters by Warner Bros. and only managed $2 million in ticket sales.

Brooks Barnes