“Creed III” punched above its weight at the domestic box office in its first weekend in theaters. MGM’s release knocked “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” out of first place and far exceeded industry expectations and the opening weekend of the first two films in the franchise.
Playing in 4,007 locations in North America, “Creed III” earned about $58.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Over the weekend, analysts expect the film to open in the $30 million range. The first “Creed” debuted to $29 million in 2015 and “Creed II” opened to $35 million in 2018.
Michael B. Jordan made his directorial debut with “Creed III,” which pitted the character of Adonis against his childhood friend, Dame, played by Jonathan Majors. It was the first Rocky/Creed film not to feature Sylvester Stallone, who chose not to return due to creative differences.
“It exceeded all our expectations. And we knew it was something special – we tested the film and it tested well, but the public responded very well,” said Erik Lomis, MGM’s head of distribution. “Everything is here starting with the film itself… It’s just for us not to break when they give it to us and we don’t.”
Strong reviews helped “Creed III,” which currently sits at 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore. The audience is predominantly male (63%), diverse (36% Black, 28% Latino, 23% white and 13% Asian/other) and young (55% between 18 and 34) according to the poll.
More than 80% of general viewers said the film was a “definite recommendation.” With black viewers, that number rises to 89%.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time and it’s rare air,” Lomis said. “People love movies.”
It is also the most expensive “Creed” film, with a reported production budget of $75 million, compared to other films that cost between $35 million and $50 million. Internationally, “Creed III” earned $41.8 million from 75 markets, making it a $100.4 million global debut.
It’s a big moment for Amazon, which acquired MGM for $8.5 billion last year, and can only release “Creed III” on the streaming service with a limited theatrical run. But he chose the theater, and it paid off.
“Amazon is throwing as much weight behind this movie as they can,” Lomis said. “They filled the campaign with marketing support in all verticals on the platform and beyond the platform. It shows the commitment to the theater business model from Amazon and MGM, which I think should please everyone.
The company’s next major theatrical release is the Ben Affleck-directed “Air,” starring Matt Damon, out next month.
“Ant-Man 3” dropped to a distant second in its third weekend in theaters with $12.5 million from North America and $22 million internationally. The Marvel and Disney film’s global total is currently at $419.5 million.
Third place went to Universal’s “Cocaine Bear,” which added $11 million in its second weekend in theaters to bring its domestic total to $41.3 million.
Crunchyroll’s “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To The Swordsmith Village” was in fourth place with $10.1 million. The series is based on Koyoharu Gotoge’s manga about a boy who avenges his family.
Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company’s “Jesus Revolution” rounded out the top five with $8.7 million. The film starring Kelsey Grammer as a priest in the 1970s has grossed $30.5 million in two weekends in theaters on a production budget of $15 million.
Opening outside the top five is Guy Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre,” a spy caper starring Jason Statham, Hugh Grant and Aubrey Plaza that grossed $3.2 million from 2,168 locations this weekend. The film, originally an STX release, was in distribution limbo for some time. Lionsgate recently signed on to oversee the domestic launch.
The success of “Creed III” bodes well for other releases in March, including “John Wick Chapter 4” and “Shazam! Wrath of the Gods.”
“We’re going to have an incredible March,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “It’s going to be more like summer than spring with hits coming after the next which will create tremendous momentum for the summer movie season.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, with Wednesday through Sunday in parentheses. The final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. “Creed III,” $58.7 million. 2. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” $12.5 million. 3. “Cocaine Bear,” $11 million. 4. “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To The Swordsmith Village,” $10.1 million. 5. “Jesus Revolution,” $8.7 million. 6. “Avatar: The Way of Water,” $3.6 million. 7. “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre,” $3.2 million. 8. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” $2.7 million. 9. “Magic Mike’s Last Dance,” $1.2 million. 10. “80 for Brady,” $845,000.
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