The new instalment in the ‘Rocky’ franchise, Creed III, has seen a strong box office opening. The film has crossed the $100 Million mark on its first weekend, putting it at number one worldwide.
The film stars Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors and is directed by Jordan himself. It also features Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu and Phylicia Rashad.
Theatrical Releases
The latest installment of the Creed franchise topped $100 million in its box office opening weekend, a record for the film series. It easily surpassed Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the previous top film of the weekend.
The third film in the franchise stars Michael B. Jordan, who also made his directorial debut, in the lead role of Adonis “Donnie” Creed. He’s joined by a cast that includes Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia Rashad.
Strong reviews helped to propel Creed III to a solid box office opening weekend. The movie ranked 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and received an A- CinemaScore from audiences. The audience was largely male (63%), diverse (36% Black, 28% Latino, 23% white and 13% Asian/other), and young (55% between 18 and 34) according to exit polls. Moreover, general audiences gave Creed III an 80% “definite recommend.” With Black audiences that number ballooned to 89%. This is a big win for Amazon, which purchased MGM for $8.5 billion last year.
Domestic Box Office
The box office saw a strong opening for Creed III, the latest installment in the Rocky spinoff franchise that stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed and Jonathan Majors as Dame, the boxing rival who is also a childhood friend of the hero.
In terms of domestic ticket sales, the film opened with an estimated $58.7 million, which is more than the combined debuts of both 2015’s Creed (29.6 million) and 2018’s Creed II (35.55 million). That puts the film on track to exceed the totals of its predecessors, which each earned $109.8 million and $115.7 million.
The film saw a high moviegoer turnout, with an A- CinemaScore and top exit scores on PostTrak. Audiences were primarily male (63%), diverse (36% Black, 28% Latino, 23% white and 13% Asian/other) and young (55% between 18 and 34).
International Box Office
The latest installment in the Rocky and Creed franchises, Creed III, sees a strong box office opening. It’s the most expensive production in the series, with a reported $75 million budget, which is more than its predecessors of $35 million and $50 million.
The movie also debuted to a franchise-best $41.8 million from 75 international markets, bringing the film’s global gross to $100.4 million, according to Comscore. The strong international performance is a boon for Amazon, who purchased MGM for $8.5 billion last year and chose to release the film theatrically instead of on their streaming service.
The box office success is also a huge win for theater owners who have high hopes for March with upcoming releases Scream VI, Shazam!: Fury of the Gods and John Wick Chapter 4. It’s also a critical juncture for MGM and Amazon, who are planning an expanded film footprint. They’re also preparing to release the Ben Affleck-directed Air, starring Matt Damon, next month.
Ratings
It’s a crowded field at the box office this week, but Sylvester Stallone’s franchise still managed to see strong early returns with its latest entry, Creed III. Its record-breaking opening weekend smashed the record of every other movie in the franchise and even broke the record for all sports movies this year.
The story of Creed III finds Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) settling into a comfortable, posh retirement. He enjoys tea parties with his daughter, offers moral support to his music producer wife, Bianca (Tessa Thompson), and promotes aspiring ring stars.
But when his former childhood friend, Damian “Diamond Dame” Anderson (Jonathan Majors), arrives unannounced at the gym, Adonis isn’t prepared for his return. After all, he and Dame were both caught up in a violent tussle during their teenage years, and both have since spent 18 years behind bars.