Director and actor Michael B. Jordan is a box-office hit with Creed III.
The film opened domestically at $58.6 million across 4,007 screens after grossing $22 million on Friday, marking a big win for MGM and Michael B. Jordan, who is directing his feature film debut on Creed III led. Jordan also returns in the role of Adonis Creed, a character first introduced in Ryan Coogler’s 2016 hit sleeper Creed, which revived the legendary Rocky film series.
The Threequel not only scored the best series debut, it’s the biggest sports film premiere in history, according to MGM.
Creed III – which will easily win the weekend – begins at a critical juncture for MGM and parent company Amazon as they plan an expanded film appearance.
The Creed series has been one of MGM’s most important modern franchises, and the third installment doesn’t disappoint. It’s more than compelling compared to the first two films, and will easily score the spinoff franchise’s biggest first-weekend premiere, fueled by top PostTrak scores and an A-CinemaScore (not to mention rave reviews). Men, both younger and older, made up 62 percent of an racially diverse audience (39 percent Latino, 27 percent White, 20 percent Asian/Other, and 14 percent Black), according to PostTrak.
Creed has grown to a domestic opening of $42.1 million during the five-day Thanksgiving holiday of 2015, including $29 million for the three-day weekend, unadjusted for inflation. The Steven Caple Jr.-directed sequel opened above the Thanksgiving Corridor in 2018 and grossed $56 million for the five days and $35.5 million for the three.
Filmed on Imax digital cameras, Creed III pushed Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania off many premium screens, including Imax locations.
The image follows Jordan’s character as he comes out of retirement to take on an old friend, played by Jonathan Majors (who is also notable for his villainous role in Quantumania). Tessa Thompson, Mila Davis-Kent and Wood Harris are among the co-stars.
Now that Amazon owns an older Hollywood studio, it’s in a better position than other streamers to pull off a traditional theatrical release in North America. For example, in recent weeks, Amazon Studios have announced that Ben Affleck’s AIR will hit theaters around the world, rather than being sent directly, or almost directly, to Prime Video.
Amazon protected its newfound theater apparatus by bringing United Artists Releasing into MGM. UAR was the domestic sales and marketing company that was previously a co-venture between MGM and Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures.
Among the holdovers, Marvel’s and Disney’s troubled Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania fell to #2 from 3,825 locations with an estimated $12-$12.5 million. While the superhero image has amassed a domestic war chest of more than $185 million , it crashed another 60 percent further on its third appearance.
Universal’s Elizabeth Banks-directed genre film Cocaine Bear came in at #3 on its second release with $11 million in 3,570 theaters for a gratifying total of $41.2 million. The film fell a respectable 53 percent.
Also debuting at the domestic box office this weekend is the anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village (Crunchyroll), which peaked at #4 with approximately $10 million in 1,780 theaters, and Guy Ritchie’s action pic Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre (Lionsgate, Miramax), which is aiming for seventh place with an estimated $3 million from 2,168 locations.
There’s more to come.
March 5, 6:45 am: Updated with revised Grosses.
This story was originally published March 4 at 6:11 am