Box Office Report for the Week of April 2

Another week, another movie outperforming expectations in every way. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was a surprise hit amongst critics and audiences, grossing over $71.5 million internationally and over $38.5 million domestically. It’s an even bigger hit considering the fact that none of the previous Dungeons & Dragons film adaptations were well-received by critics and audiences. This will likely lead Paramount to greenlight film sequels after already paving the way for a shared universe of television spinoffs for Paramount+ currently in development.

Save for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, March has been the month of “outperforming expectations.” Creed III, Scream VI, and John Wick: Chapter 4 outperformed all of its projections and became the highest-grossing films of their respective franchises. We can add Dungeons & Dragons to that list since previous film adaptations were made to disastrous effects. I wasn’t a fan of the new film, but I also understand why people saw it: the word of mouth from audiences is incredibly strong, the main cast will definitely pique interest, and most reviews are extremely positive. If a movie’s word of mouth from critics and fans is strong, chances are it will outperform expectations in the best way possible. Time will tell to see how its legs will carry the movie to bigger success, but it’s likely going to surpass $200 million internationally.

Speaking of movies surpassing $200 million, John Wick: Chapter 4 did just that. The film has now accumulated $244.9 million internationally and added $28.2 million to its domestic tally this weekend. Because of this, Lionsgate is now currently discussing the possibility of John Wick: Chapter 5. Of course, this seems like a tantalizing prospect. But John Wick: Chapter 4 was such a satisfying conclusion to what came before that there is no need to make a Chapter 5. In building a fun John Wick-related universe, Lionsgate must now focus on a handful of spinoff films and television series that will expand the franchise while not making Chapter 4‘s ending inconsequential. Chapter 4 tied up all loose ends. It would be a shame to tarnish it.

As for the other movies of the weekend, the Sundance winner A Thousand and One ended up in the seventh position with an impressive $1.8 million gross in only 926 theatres. Reviews for this one have been very positive, with the film currently sitting at a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. It may be too early to say that it’s a massive awards contender, but the praise has been quite significant from both critics and audiences. The Faith-based film His Only Son also made a considerable amount of money, ending up in fourth place with an impressive $5.3 million tally, tying up with Scream VI, which has also made the same amount domestically but finished third, behind John Wick: Chapter 4 and Dungeons & Dragons.

Here’s the full list of the top ten films of the week:

1. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount): $38.5M – 3,855 theatres
2. John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate): $28.2M (-61.8%) – 3,855 theatres
3. Scream VI (Paramount): $5.3M (-36.4%) – 3,016 theatres
4. His Only Son (Angel Studios): $5.3M – 1,920 theatres
5. Creed III (MGM): $5.0M (-38.9%) – 2,827 theatres
6. Shazam! Fury of the Gods (Warner Bros/DC): $4.6M (-50.8%) – 3,451 theatres
7. A Thousand and One (Universal): $1.8M – 926 theatres
8. 65 (Sony): $1.5M (-50.6%) – 2,113 theatres
9. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Disney): $1.2M (-48.8%) – 1,440 theatres
10. Jesus Revolution (Lionsgate): $1.0M (-49.2%) – 1,415 theatres

Source: Box Office Mojo