Michael B. Jordan, Jonathan Majors in Creed III (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer photo)
Boxing Drama ‘Creed III’ Looks to Deliver Weekend Box Office Knockout
March 3, 2023
A busy March box office beckons with Amazon/MGM Studios’ Creed III, the third installment in boxing drama spin-off of the “Rocky” franchise, looking to become the champ.
The film finds heavyweight champ Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) defending title and lifestyle against a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy (Jonathan Majors). In addition to headlining the movie, Jordan also directs the follow-up to 2018’s Creed II, which featured elder statesman Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) guiding Creed. That movie generated more than $214 million at the global box office. The threequel could best the sequel’s record $35.6 million North American box office opening and could generate $43 million in ticket sales through March 5, according to Box Office Pro.
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Another new weekend theatrical release, Sony Pictures/Crunchyroll’s anime release Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba — To the Swordsmith Village, follows in the successful footsteps of the 2021 box office hit Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train, which generated $453 million in worldwide ticket sales. To the Swordsmith Village is tracking an opening weekend revenue estimate of around $11 million, significantly below Mugen Train, which debuted with $21.3 million in ticket sales. The former is also expected to finished behind the third weekend of Disney/Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which should tally around $14 million.
Other weekend box office returnees include Universal Pictures’ Cocaine Bear, which is projected to generate an additional $10.3 million in ticket sales, followed by Lionsgate’s faith-based Jesus Revolution, with $9.4 million in estimated revenue.
Lionsgate is also debuting Guy Ritchie’s international comedy thriller Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, featuring Jason Statham, Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes and Hugh Grant. Box Office Pro suggests the movie is projected to generate $4 million in ticket sales.