While theJohn Wickfranchise seemed to end withJohn Wick Chapter 4,there was one primary reason this couldn’t be the end of the Keanu Reeves film series. Derek Kolstad created theJohn Wickfranchise in 2014and Chad Stahelski stepped into the director’s chair to helm the first movie. WhileDerek Kolstad left theJohn Wickfranchiseafter the third movie, Stahelski kept it going through four installments before passing off the spinoffBallerinato veteran action director Len Wiseman and new star Ana de Armas.
The fourthJohn Wickmovie endedin what seemed like the last stand for the titular character. The movie ended with John Wick’s death, and that seemed to mark the end of the franchise. However, the movies carried on with the spinoffBallerinaand there is more coming.John Wick himself even returned toBallerina,as that was a prequel movie. However, there is no way that Lionsgate will letJohn Wick stay dead, and Keanu Reeves coming backis for a very good reason. The franchise is worth too much to die.
Each Of The Main John Wick Movies Has Made More Money Than The Last
John Wick Gets More Popular With Each Movie
Sequels usually make less than the original movies in all but the biggest franchises. However,that isn’t what happened withJohn Wick.Instead, these movies got bigger and bigger as the series wore on, which is helpful since the budgets also skyrocketed as well. The first film had a lower budget of $30 million and an $86 million worldwide profit warranted a sequel. However, no one could have expected the next movies to just keep bringing in more and more money untilJohn Wicksurpassed $1 billionafter just four movies.
The secondJohn Wickmovie cost only slightly more than the first, and it ended up almost doubling what the first movie made at the box office. This had to really pump confidence into the studio and director Chad Stahelski. The studio paid $75 million for the third movie, which was more than the budget of the first two movies combined. The gamble paid off, withJohn Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellummaking $326.6 million worldwide, which was also more than the first two movies combined at the box office.
Even when the budget skyrocketed to $100 million forJohn Wick: Chapter 4,the film’s box office jumped accordingly. The third movie’s box office totals proved that fans had bought into the series unconditionally. However, when the fourth movie ended up making $447.3 million at the box office, it was clear that this series wasn’t ending and there was no way thatKeanu Reeves' John Wick would stay dead. These were numbers for blockbusters, andJohn Wickfinally achieved that status.
John Wick 4’s Box Office Means Keanu Reeves' Return In John Wick 5 Is Inevitable
Keanu Reeves Was Always Going To Be Back As John Wick
WhenJohn Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellummade $326.6 million, the franchise knew it could take a chance with the fourth movie.Killing John Wick in the endwas a choice that no one could have expected. It raised the stakes in an unexpected way andensured that people were talking about John Wick.How could the franchise kill off its main character when viewers were still willing to pay to keep seeing him tear through assassins in a way unlike any other action movie? This was never going to end the series.
$30 million
$86.0 million
$40 million
$171.5 million
$75 million
$326.6 million
$100 million
$447.3 million
$90 million
$58.5 million+
By the time that the fourth movie finished its theatrical run, theJohn Wickfranchise had made $1.032 billion in total worldwide revenue. This made it clear that there were going to be more movies with Reeves. There was likely no chance that they would leave him dead at the end of the film, not with the fanbase still willing to spend money to watch the action. The good news is that the fourth movie showed John sitting down to die, but didn’t actually show him dying. The movie smartly left his return open.
John Wick’s Box Office Run Is Matched By The Franchise’s Quality
The Movies Got Better & Maintained A High Standard.
There are two main reasons that theJohn Wickfranchise kept making more money as it progressed. One is that Reeves has earned his spot as one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars and fans will see him in movies of this sort. However, if the movies didn’t improve as they went on, it wouldn’t have worked as well. Remember, Reeves has been in action movies before,and outsideThe Matrix,nothing was as big asJohn Wick.What happened was that the films got better and better.
86% / 82%
68/100
7.5/10
89% / 85%
75/100
7.4/10
89% / 86%
73/100
94% / 93%
78/100
7.6/10
75% / 93%
59/100
7.3/10
The first movie was a great story, with John Wick tracking down the man who killed his dog and getting the ultimate revenge. However, the second movie opened up themythology of theJohn Wickworld,and the action got bigger and better. By the third and fourth movies, Stahelski kept pulling out more action scenes and ensured that the movies were as entertaining as they were violent, and this made sure the quality never dropped. The fourth movie had the best Rotten Tomatoes score of the franchise.
Ballerina Is Unlikely To Continue John Wick’s Box Office Streak, But That’s Okay
The Big Money Comes With John Wick As The Main Character
When most movies release sequels, there is a chance of diminishing returns.Each sequel makes less money than the ones that came before.That has recently become clear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where movies have had bigger and bigger returns, until recent years, when the latest releases made less money with the mostly standalone movies. After making billions at the box office, the MCU began struggling to sell movies likeThe MarvelsandThe Thunderbolts*.
That happened toJohn Wick withFrom the World of John Wick: Ballerinain 2025. That movie had John Wick in it, but it struggled at the box office during its opening weekend. Since its release on June 6,Ballerinahas made $58.5 million worldwide, and it might not reach its break-even point with its $90 million budget plus marketing costs. However, that is okay. As the MCU showed with movies likeDeadpool & WolverineandSpider-Man: No Way Home, the money still comes in when the movies highlight beloved characters.
WhenJohn Wick 5comes out, fans will be backbecause Keanu Reeves' story is what matters most to them. No matter how good Ana de Armas did inBallerina,the fans wanted to see more of John Wick, and not just as a side character. AsJohn Wick Chapter 4showed, Reeves still sells the franchise, and when he returns for the fifth movie in the main franchise, fans will likely return as well.
