Webdesk: Last weekend, MGM’s boxing thriller Creed III delivered a first-round knockout at the North American box office, grossing an estimated $58.7 million to claim the top spot in one of the greatest starts ever for a sports film.
According to industry researcher Exhibitor Relations, this made first-time director Michael B. Jordan — who reprised his role as the ruthless boxer Apollo Creed — the “box office champion without a loss.”
“This opener is spectacular,” said Franchise Entertainment Research analyst David Gross. Such weekends are excellent news for the industry.
In this ninth installment of the Rocky franchise — the first without Sylvester Stallone in the character he created for Rocky Balboa — Creed emerges from retirement for a dramatic clash with an old comrade portrayed by Jonathan Majors.
This is a pretty successful weekend for Majors, the antagonist in Marvel and Disney’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which finished second with $12.5 million for the Friday-through-Sunday session. Paul Rudd plays the titular ant, while Evangeline Lilly portrays the Wasp.
Universal’s Cocaine Bear placed third with $11 million. The horror comedy is partially based on the true story of a Tennessee black bear that wreaks havoc after devouring a misplaced stockpile of cocaine. Keri Russell portrays one of the residents affected by the insanity.
Crunchyroll’s anime sequel Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — To the Swordsmith Village ranked fourth with $10.1 million. Variety said that the last “Demon Slayer” picture in 2021 had a record debut for a non-English language film, grossing $19.5 million.
And in fifth place was Lionsgate’s Jesus Revolution, a Christian drama about a California religious movement in the 1960s. It collected $8.7 million.
Completing the top 10 were:
Avatar: The Way of Water grossed $3,600,000
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre ($3.2 million)
Final Wish for Puss in Boots ($2.7 million)
Final Dance of Magic Mike ($1.2 million)
80 for Brady ($845,000)
