Creed III has just become the second film to pass a huge domestic box office milestone. The boxing movie sequel, which is the third in the Creed spinoff subfranchise of the Rocky franchise, was directed by star Michael B. Jordan, who also reprises his role as Apollo Creed's son Adonis. When the film - which also stars Tessa Thompson and Jonathan Majors - opened in theaters on March 3, it closed that first weekend with a staggering gross of $54 million, not only earning the highest-grossing opening weekend of the entire franchise but the strongest opening for any sports film in history.
Per Deadline, week 2 of the theatrical run of Creed III will see the film reaching even greater box office heights. With a 3-day total of $26.7 million, it is set to bring its cumulative domestic total to more than $100 million. That will make it the first 2023 film to pass that milestone since Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania became the first in February.
What's the Next 2023 Movie to Cross $100 Million?
Currently, there are only four titles that have passed $100 million in the domestic box office this year. In addition to Creed III and Ant-Man 3, the 2022 titles Avatar: The Way of Water and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish have achieved that lofty goal. However, there are destined to be quite a few more titles joining that club before the end of the year.
It remains to be seen what films could achieve that milestone next. There are several other March titles that have the chance to hit that goal. One possibility is the slasher sequel Scream 6, which continues to exceed expectations with an opening weekend that is currently nearing $43 million, beating the stellar $30 million January 6 opening of Blumhouse's M3GAN, which has since scraped the edge of that milestone with a $95 million gross.
However, other March franchise films also have the potential to follow Creed III across that line. This includes the DC Universe outing Shazam! Fury of the Gods, the Keanu Reevers actioner John Wick: Chapter 4, and the buzzy RPG-based Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. If those films underperform, April's release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie will likely do the trick.
Source: Deadline