Creed III tracking a trilogy-best box office opening

Creed III is tracking to have a franchise-best opening when it steps into the ring–and theaters–this weekend, with reports putting numbers between $38-$40 million. This would be a hefty purse, again putting Adonis Creed at the top of the box office and more than halfway to recouping its $75 million budget.

This projected box office opening for Creed III would top any of the previous movies in the Rocky franchise, as the current champ, Creed II, opened with $35.5 million and its predecessor with $29.6. The highest-grossing movie in the franchise overall remains 1985’s Rocky IV, which tops its seven counterparts at a domestic haul of $127.9 million.

Of note, Creed III has a completely different release date than its immediate predecessors, as both 2015’s Creed and 2018’s Creed II opened on Thanksgiving weekend. While Thanksgiving is traditionally a booming time at the box office, Creed III’s late winter approach could prove to be the knockout it needs to overtake not just those movies, but possibly even Rocky IV eventually. (It would also have to topple the first and third entries in the franchise, which sit at #3 and #2, respectively.)

A strong Creed III showing could also indicate that Michael B. Jordan isn’t just one of the most commanding leading men today, but has the potential to open big at the box office as a director, as this is his debut. And there’s nothing corny about that!

As far as new releases go, Creed III shouldn’t have much competition at the box office. Even the reigning champ, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, may prove to be a lightweight. While that threequel itself has held the #1 spot since debuting last month, it has dropped significantly since and is currently projected to pull in $19 million.

While the box office numbers will prove crucial, reviews for Creed III have also been incredibly positive, with it currently holding a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. You can also check out our own review in the embedded video.

Will you be seeing Creed III on opening weekend? How do you think it will perform at the box office over its run? Let us know in the comments section below!