The world of John Wick delivered some impressive and – in all honesty – unexpectedly huge box office numbers with its third and fourth movies. That led to The Continental TV event series – which became one of the most disappointing entries in the saga – and movie spinoff, Ballerina, which fans loved but massively underperformed during its theatrical run in June. Now, the Ana De Armas action thriller is already heading to streaming before the end of this month.
STARZ announced that Ballerina will debut on the platform on September 25. This will be less than four months since it premiered in cinemas, and less than three months since its VOD release on July 1. However, its arrival on streaming will no doubt cause a bit of a stir, and with very few new titles to compete with, Ballerina will be dancing – and shooting – its way to the top of the chart in a couple of weeks’ time.
There has been plenty of speculation over what the future holds for the John Wick franchise in the wake of Ballerina’s disappointing $137 million box office, which was too close to the film’s $90 million budget to really call it anything near a success. However, Ballerina was not a bad movie. The film scored a reasonable 76% from critics and a huge 92% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, which made it the second-highest rated movie in the franchise according to viewers (John Wick: Chapter 4 just pipped it with 93%). The official summary for the film reads:
“From the world of John Wick comes Ballerina, a gripping new chapter in the global phenomenon that revolutionized modern action cinema. Ana de Armas stars as a fierce young assassin trained in the deadly traditions of the Ruska Roma, determined to hunt down those who destroyed her family. Fueled by grief and armed with relentless skill, her journey for vengeance ignites a high-stakes battle for survival.”
What Does the Future Hold for the ‘John Wick’ Franchise?
Ballerina will prove to be a huge success on streaming, as most underperforming theatrical movies do, and when it eventually finds its way to a streamer like Hulu or Netflix under license, its success will continue. However, eyes are already turning to where the John Wick franchise goes next. Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves seem almost certain to bring John Wick 5 to cinemas in the coming years, despite initially having strong reservations about continuing the franchise in light of the very final ending of Chapter 4.
Along with John Wick 5, the franchise will also be expanding into anime with a new prequel that is expected to be released before the end of the year, and another spinoff focusing on Donnie Yen’s blind assassin Caine, which is also in development. It is clear that Ballerina’s box office may not have been as high as Lionsgate would have hoped, but it has not done anything to derail the continued deep-dive into the world of assassins that has built a huge following since its humble beginnings in 2014.
