Heavyweight blockbuster Creed III has already landed a knockout blow, with the film on target to be one of the highest-grossing instalments in the Rocky spinoff franchise following a massive opening weekend at the box office. From Sylvester Stallone to now Michael B. Jordan, part of the appeal of the franchise has always been the epic David vs Goliath battles that have taken centre stage throughout all films. This time, however, it looks more like Goliath vs Goliath, and audiences are lapping it up.
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Michael B. Jordan & Jonathan Majors in ‘Creed III’ (2023) | Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
As reported by Variety, Creed III was able to hit a knockout total of USD$41.8 million at the domestic box office, smashing projected numbers and setting a new record for the franchise. What’s more, the movie was able to dethrone the latest Marvel project, Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, as the highest-grossing film for the weekend.
For comparison’s sake, the first Creed film made a solid 29.6 million during its opening weekend back in 2015. Following this, the 2018 sequel built upon the success of the first movie, bringing in 35.5 million during its debut weekend.
In an interview with Collider, star and first-time director Jordan said “family and heart” were the “core themes” going into the sequel. “There’s a bit of facing your past and finding out who you really are. That’s something that we address in this movie. It’s a homecoming,” he explained.
Jordan then went on to add that, “remembering where you come from is really important in this. Sometimes settling debts and being accountable for your actions is something that we wanted to look at…This movie has a lot of me in it, and hopefully a lot of other people, as well. I wanted to create a story where everybody felt like they could relate to something in this movie. That’s a few of the themes that we have going on in this movie.”
Jonathan Majors in ‘Creed III’ (2023) | Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
The new instalment in the Creed series sees Jordan’s Adonis ‘Donnie’ Creed pit against a friend turned foe from his past. Set a few years after the events of Creed II, the film opens with a chance meeting between newly retired Donnie and childhood friend Damian. The brooding ghost from his past is played expertly by in-demand Hollywood star Jonathan Majors, who is firmly as the industry’s best-kept secret.
When Damian resurfaces after a lengthy prison sentence, he appears eager to make a connection and link up with the superstar boxer. What starts out as wholesome quickly turns deadly, however, when Damian’s jealousy is unleashed and he vows to prove to the world that Donnie’s success should have been his. Speaking with us recently, Majors described his character in Creed III as “a love letter to those who have been pushed aside or made the wrong decision”.
“Maybe they can redeem themselves, be exonerated from it,” Majors told us prior to the film’s release. “Ultimately, it’s a story about what it is to be, when the mind is incarcerated, what it takes to free oneself again. That’s something I was really into. In addition to the fact that it’s a boxing movie and you got to fight and do all that fun stuff.”
Creed III is in cinemas across the country, and the rest of the world, now.
