John Wick: Chapter 4 Has A Baba Yaga Good Time At The Box Office With $70 Million+ Opening Weekend

Ever since he donned a pair of shades and floor-length trench coat and destroyed a lobby back in the bullet-riddled third act of "The Matrix," the combination of Keanu Reeves, cool clothes, and lots of guns has been box office gold. 2014's "John Wick" substituted the trench coat for a stylish suit and, despite a relatively modest global box office take of $86 million, launched one of the most successful action franchises of the 21st century.

"John Wick 2" doubled the first movie's box office gross, and "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" came close to doubling it again. Now, while "John Wick: Chapter 4" would be hard-pressed to double the previous movie's numbers again, it is looking at another franchise-best opening weekend. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the fourth "John Wick" film grossed almost $30 million on Friday (including $8.9 million from Thursday night previews) and is on track for a domestic debut north of $70 million. That will easily beat the previous record set by "Parabellum," which made $56.8 million in its opening weekend.

As for how far north of $70 million "John Wick: Chapter 4" might land ... well, the man is hard to predict, and so is the box office. A few weeks ago, Friday numbers for "Creed III" had box office analysts projecting a $50 million-plus opening weekend, and the final tally was $58.3 million. 

Speaking of "Creed III," that sequel is still going strong despite fresh competition from Mr. Wick, and is expected to land firmly at No. 4 by adding another $8.3 million to its domestic total.

While Keanu proves the evergreen appeal of dark clothes and epic shootouts, the superhero movie genre continues to show signs of ageing. As I noted last week, the disappointing opening weekend for "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" is part of a greater trend that's even affecting the once-bulletproof Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, the sequel is facing a steep second weekend drop from its already weak start.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, "Fury of the Gods" is in a tight race with "Scream VI" (now in its third weekend) for second place. "Scream VI" is heading for an estimated $8.9 million Friday-to-Sunday total, while "Shazam 2" projections put it slightly ahead at $9 million. That would be a 69% drop from its debut last weekend — on par with the sophomore drop for 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which at the time was one of the worst ever second weekend drops for a superhero movie. Now, it's dangerously close to becoming standard; "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" suffered a similar drop-off last month.

The "John Wick" franchise looks stronger than ever, at least, which is good news for the upcoming spinoff "Ballerina," starring Ana de Armas. As for whether we'll get to see Keanu Reeves tangling with the league of assassins again ... well, "John Wick: Chapter 4" director Chad Stahelski told Rolling Stone the ending is "open to interpretation." Never say never (Baba Yaga might hear you).