MGM’s “Creed III” kicked off its opening weekend with $5.45 million in Thursday box office previews, according to multiple media reports.
Starring Michael B. Jordan in his directorial debut, the threequel is independently projected to pull in $40 million its opening weekend. MGM is projecting $35 to $38 million, on par with “Creed II”s $35.5 million opening. The 2018 sequel brought $3.7 million from preview screenings that took place on a Tuesday night ahead of the extended Thanksgiving weekend in 2018.
“Creed III” must take in more than $115 domestically and $214 million worldwide to beat its predecessor, while the first installment in the franchise made $109 million in the U.S. and $173.5 million globally back in 2015.
The sports drama stars Jordan as Adonis Creed, boxing world champion and protégé of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone, who does not appear in the latest film). “Creed III” finds its protagonist well-adjusted in both his professional and personal life, when a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors) returns from a long hiatus to challenge him. Their fight extends beyond the ring when Creed puts it all on the line to win.
The cast includes Tessa Thompson, Wood Harris, Mila Davis-Kent, Florian Munteanu, and Phylicia Rashad.
Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin wrote the screenplay as well as the story, along with Ryan Coogler. It is produced by Irwin Winkler, Charles Winkler, William Chartoff, David Winkler, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, Elizabeth Raposo, Jonathan Glickman, and Sylvester Stallone. Executive producers are Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler, Nicolas Stern and Adam Rosenberg.
“Creed III” opens opposite Guy Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune.” The Lionsgate film, which made $220,000 in preview showings, opens in approximately 2,168 locations this weekend and is expected to land somewhere in the mid-to-high single digit range. The comedy thriller stars Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Josh Hartnett, Cary Elwes, Bugzy Malone, and Hugh Grant.
