John Wick 4 Smashes Past Parabellum

No surprises here! The latest installment in the John Wick franchise has already beaten “John Wick Chapter 3” at the global box office, raking in $350 million – as at April 17 – since the action epic hit screens 25 days ago. 

 

For reference, “John Wick – Parabellum” managed to secure $328.3 million at the box office back in 2019. And so, “John Wick Chapter 4” is now the most successful John Wick movie ever! Well done! 

 

Of course, its performance cannot be compared to “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, which despite the negative reviews, is already a smash hit and fittingly, has been raking in the coins, much like the Italian plumber’s custom. 

 

The animated offering from Universal and Illumination and based on the wildly popular Nintendo video game has broken box office records for video game adaptations and animated films. 

 

The movie blasted past even the most bullish expectations to earn $204.6 million in its five-day domestic debut (April 05-09), including $146.4 million for the three-day weekend. Overseas, it pulled in $171 million for an astounding worldwide start of $375.6 million, the best showing of the year to date on all fronts. 

 

As at Monday, the comedic romp has collected $710 million in ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. And already, there is optimism that “Super Mario” could be the first billion-dollar grosser of 2023.

 

Note: Disney should worry because while the House of Mouse has had great success with movies like "Frozen" and "Moana", future Mario movies could threaten their dominance in that regard. 

 

Super Mario Bros. is an IP with generations of fans, and plenty of legacy characters, not to mention a scope as large as the MCU. Superhero fatigue has set Disney at a sure disadvantage, particularly since "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" has a few Power-Ups that set it apart. And not forgetting to mention that Disney are becoming more woke these days.