A disappointing performance from John Wick spinoff Ballerina has left TV and movie production company Lionsgate facing a $94 million quarterly net loss.
The Ana de Armas-starring film opened on June 6 to positive reviews, though failed to match the box office of the main John Wick movies.
Set between John Wick: Chapter 3 and 4, Ballerina introduces de Armas’ character Eve Macarro as a dancer-turned-assassin, and features appearances by numerous John Wick regulars such as Ian McShane, Anjelica Huston, and — in his final screen appearance — the late Lance Reddick.
Ballerina even features John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves, though only in a small role. And despite this appearance featuring in pre-release trailers, it seems the actor’s guest spot wasn’t enough to convince the franchise’s usual crowds to turn upat theaters.
Ballerina ended its worldwide box office run on $132 million, versus a reported budget of $90 million. By comparison, John Wick: Chapter 4 made $447.3 million, on a budget of $100 million.
Reacting to the company’s latest financial results, Lionsgate boss Jon Feltheimer said the company was “taking a number of important steps toward returning to solid growth in fiscal 2027,” with a trio of “major film tentpoles” set for the coming financial year, Variety reported, in addition to an increased number of scripted TV series.
Upcoming Lionsgate productions include a fresh Hunger Games movie adaptation based on the franchise’s latest prequel novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, as well as a two-part sequel to The Passion of the Christ (no spoilers!).
As for the John Wick franchise, it remains unclear how Ballerina’s performance will impact plans for its future — or the previous suggestion that the film could get a sequel.
Two additional John Wick spinoffs are already in development, including a franchise prequel and a side-story featuring Donnie Yen’s character of Caine. There are also plans for a full John Wick: Chapter 5, though this still seems some way off. Last month, director Chad Stahelski said he was still trying to work out a story for the sequel, in order to work around the climactic ending of John Wick: Chapter 4.
“In spite of a slow start, Ballerina proves she belongs in The World of John Wick with fight choreography that’s every bit as creative (and fun) as anything else the series has given us and a story and character that stand on their own,” IGN wrote in our Ballerina review, which returned an 8/10 score.
Image credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
