“Ballerina,” the fifth installment in the “John Wick” franchise, was met with a tepid reception by global audiences upon its release.
The R-rated spinoff, starring Ana de Armas, opened with $25 million in North America and $26 million across 81 overseas markets, for a total global debut of $51 million.
Compared to previous “John Wick” films in North America, “Ballerina” outperformed only the 2014 original (“John Wick,” $14 million). For reference, “John Wick: Chapter 2” opened with $30.4 million in 2017, “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” with $56.8 million in 2019, and “John Wick: Chapter 4” with $73 million in 2023.
“Ballerina”’s $26 million five-day overseas opening also falls below those of the last two installments: “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” ($35.2 million) and “John Wick: Chapter 4” ($64 million).
With a $90 million production budget, “Ballerina” would need to gross approximately $200 million to break even, following Hollywood’s rule of thumb that a film must earn at least 2.5 times its budget to be considered profitable.
Officially titled “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, the Lionsgate film features Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, a ballerina-turned-assassin who takes the mantle from Keanu Reeves. Directed by Len Wiseman and penned by Shay Hatten, the narrative is set between the events of “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” and “John Wick: Chapter 4.”
Despite receiving respectable reviews, the film has failed to draw audiences to theaters in the same way Reeves’s films did.