Ballerinais the latest installment in theJohn Wickfranchise – here’s its budget, box office projections, and what it needs to make. Set between the events ofJohn Wick: Chapter 3 – ParabellumandChapter 4,the spinoff introduces Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro, the titular ballerina who begins training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma and sets out to avenge her father’s death.Ballerina’s castalso includes Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Lance Reddick, and Anjelica Huston reprising their roles, with Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus debuting as new characters.
Like every film in theJohn Wickfranchise,Ballerinais hoping to be a box office success. Since the first movie began with a relatively modest budget of $20–30 million and box office returns north of $86 million, the franchise has grown exponentially with each installment exceeding the last in terms of its budget and box office, withChapter 4making over $447 million against its $100 million price tag. This has led to the development of another sequel,John Chapter: Chapter 5, and also several spinoffs, includingBallerina.
Ballerina’s Budget Is Reportedly Over $80 Million
The Movie Underwent Extensive Reshoots
PerDeadline,Ballerina’s budget is reportedly between $80–$90 millionafter reshoots, which would be the franchise’s second-most expensive film behindJohn Chapter: Chapter 4. The main reason why the movie was so expensive to produce is likely due to its extensive reshoots. While nearly every franchise film undergoes reshoots to some extent, some more extensive than others,Ballerinareportedly underwent significant reshootsafter the initial filming had wrapped in February 2023.
Chad Stahelski, who steered the franchise’s first four films to success, reportedly oversawtwo to three months of reshoots, refilming most of the movie originally directed by franchise newcomer Len Wiseman, who was not present during the reshooting process. Reports categorized it as Stahelski coming in to “clean up someone else’s mess,” as the franchise veteran had to reshoot the majority of the movie because Wiseman’s version did not meet expectations, especially regarding thefight scenes in theJohn Wickmovie.
Ballerina’s Opening Weekend Box Office Projections
It’s Projected To Open At $35–40M
According to the latest data available viaDeadlineon May 15,Ballerinais projected to make $35–40 million in its opening weekend at the box office, but there’s still potential for that figure to increase before its release. This would place third among allJohn Wickopenings, falling betweenChapter 2’s $30.4 million andChapter 3 – Parabellum’s $56.8 million, and closely matching the franchise’s average debut of $43.8 million.Chapter 4set a new opening weekend record for the franchise, earning $73.8 million.
This projected opening weekend would put Ballerina on the path to success.
At $35–40 million, that range falls somewhat below the opening weekends of similar franchise spinoffs, such asThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes($44.6 million) andFantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore($42.1 million). However,this projected opening weekend would putBallerinaon the path to success. Generally, a good opening weekend is around 50% of the film’s budget, which in the case ofBallerina, would be in the range of $40–45 million.
Ballerina Needs To Make Over $200 Million To Be A Box Office Success
The Movie Needs To Make 2.5 Times Its Budget
Generally, a movie needs to make two and a half times its budget to break even and start turning a profit, considering additional marketing costs and that theaters keep a portion of the ticket sales. In the case ofBallerina, that would meanit needs to make over $200 million to be a box office success, based on the lower end of the budget range. If the higher end is correct, it would need to make $225 million to become profitable.
Ballerinashouldn’t have much of a problem making over $200 million at the box office since the last twoJohn Wickmoviesboth made over $300 million. Although it’s unlikely thatBallerinawill become the franchise’s highest-grossing film, it should honor theJohn Wickname well. With several familiar faces reprising their roles, including Reeves, and de Armas, a rising star in recent years, leading the cast, the spinoff has all the ingredients for success. Hence, there’s a solid reason to believeBallerinawill be a box office hit.
