‘John Wick 4’ tops North America box office

Lionsgate’s neo-noir action thriller ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ opened this weekend with North American ticket sales estimated at an impressive $73.5 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

Analyst David A. Gross called it ‘a superb opening,’ noting that each Wick sequel has managed to outdo its predecessors.

Reviews have been mostly positive: “Would that all action films were so well and cleanly choreographed”, the Washington Post gushed; but some reviewers saw the body count -- more than 100 per bloody Wick movie -- as a bit much.

‘Chapter 4’ owes its choreography largely to director Chad Stahelski, himself a former stunt man. Starring along with Reeves, in a tale that has the titular hitman fighting a powerful international crime group -- are Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgard and Laurence Fishburne.

Last weekend’s box office leader, ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ took in just $9.7 million, slipping to second place, in what Variety called ‘one of the worst turnouts for a modern superhero movie.’ The DC/Warner Bros. film stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel and Adam Brody.

In third spot was ‘Scream VI’ from Paramount and Spyglass Media, at $8.4 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period. Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega and Skeet Ulrich star in the horror flick.

In fourth was yet another sequel, United Artists’ boxing drama ‘Creed III,’ at $8.37 million. Michael B. Jordan directs and plays the title character; his co-star Jonathan Majors was arrested Saturday for allegedly assaulting a woman in a domestic dispute.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($2.4 million)

Cocaine Bear ($2.1 million)

Jesus Revolution ($2 million)

Champions ($1.5 million)

Avatar: The Way of Water ($1.4 million)