Decades into the boxing franchise, anything related to Rocky can still sell. Just look at Creed III and its impressive opening weekend.
The third entry in the Creed series and the ninth Rocky movie is a fan-favorite hit. Creed III is headed to a franchise record start of $51.1 million in its domestic opening weekend; the film made an impressive $22 million on Friday, coming above initial projections.
2015’s Creed opened $42.1 million domestically over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday. The sequel, directed by Steven Caple Jr., opened over the 2018 Thanksgiving holiday, which led it to gross $56 million for the five days and $35.5 million for the three.
The box office win was perfect for first-time director Michael B. Jordan, who played double duty as star and the man behind the camera. This will likely open more doors for Jordan, giving the actor even more chances to work with Jonathan Majors. This is the second number-one opening weekend for Majors in less than a month; Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania saw the actor saw as Kang and helped land the film its number-one opening weekend.
This weekend helped prove two things: we are ready to move on from Rocky in these movies, and it’s time for a fresh crop of actors in general. The youthful star power on display helped land Creed III number one without the help of legend Sylvester Stallone and saw two young Black actors dominate the cinemas.
SEE ALSO: 8 Rounds with Rocky and Creed: Ranking the Rocky Franchise
The film also scored well with its viewers, landing a 92% from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes and receiving an “A-” grade through research firm Cinema Score. Will Creed III be able to ride this positivity to make back its $75 million production budget? Only time will tell.
After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) has been thriving in both his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian (Jonathan Majors), resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian – a fighter who has nothing to lose.
Creed III features a cast that includes Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Phylicia Rashad, Wood Harris, Florian Munteanu, Tony Bellew, Canelo Alvarez, Selenis Leyva, and Mila Davis-Kent.
Creed III is now playing in cinemas.
