The John Wick Franchise Has Officially Made $1 Billion Worldwide At The Box Office

It's official: "John Wick" has joined the coveted $1 billion club. Thanks in large part to the resounding success of this year's "John Wick: Chapter 4," the action franchise starring Keanu Reeves as the world's most badass assassin has officially crossed the major milestone at the global box office. This is made all the more remarkable considering that the original film was damn close to being dumped on VOD. Instead, Lionsgate scored one of its biggest hits ever and will be counting the money for years to come.

According to The Numbers, "John Wick: Chapter 4" has, to date, earned $425.5 million worldwide since the film hit theaters back in March. That makes it by far the highest-grossing entry in the series (which is good since it carries a steep $100 million budget) and was also enough to push the larger franchise to a global $1.01 billion gross. Compare that to the original "John Wick," which was released in 2014 and took in a far more modest $87.7 million. That was still enough to justify a sequel though, especially in light of the film's strong reviews and relatively small $30 million budget.

What's most remarkable is that every single "John Wick" film thus far has grossed more than its predecessor, and by a pretty significant margin. "John Wick: Chapter 2" ($171.5 million) made more than double what the first one did, while "John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum" ($327.2 million) nearly doubled the ticket sales yet again. This sort of thing simply doesn't happen in the world of big movie franchises, and it speaks volumes about the quality that director Chad Stahelski has maintained across all four entries.

To say that what this franchise has accomplished is impressive would be an understatement. When the first "John Wick" came out, Keanu Reeves' best days were seemingly behind him, with "The Matrix" trilogy a distant memory. He was struggling just to get calls from studios for big movies. That's when the movie's script came across his desk and changed everything. It's even more noteworthy when we consider that the directing duo of Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who co-helmed the first installment, had never made a feature before. They were longtime stuntmen who finally got the chance to step up to the plate. They didn't waste their shot.

Lionsgate didn't come aboard to distribute the film until the 11th hour, and even that wasn't a surefire recipe for success. But the movie spoke for itself and, as a result, its reputation grew by orders of magnitude on home video. That's why "Chapter 2" was able to become the rare breakout success. All told, the first four "John Wick" films were made on a combined budget of $210 million. To put it another way, Lionsgate has earned nearly five times that at the box office — not to mention what they've pulled in from Blu-ray sales, cable rights, and other revenue streams. It's become a true cash cow for them. This $1 billion milestone serves as a bit of a victory lap.

Looking ahead, a spin-off starring Ana de Armas titled "Ballerina" is on the way, as well as the prequel event series "The Continental," which is set to stream on Peacock later this year. Beyond that? Things remain a bit uncertain, but rest assured, Lionsgate will try to capitalize on the "John Wick" brand for as long as they possibly can.