The latest installment in one of the biggest action franchises today, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, debuted in theaters last weekend, drumming up a disappointing box office opening for the latest spinoff. The new film makes the Baba Yaga scary again, and has been met with positive reception from both audiences and critics. However, it only scored a $25 million opening and came in below tracking, which was set at about $35 million. Following the growth of the John Wick franchise, this is not a strong start, although the film is not yet doomed.

Compared to the first John Wick, which opened to $14 million back in 2014, this is not a bad opening. However, the franchise has grown with each installment, with John Wick: Chapter 4‘s box office opening to an incredible $73.8 million in 2023. While Ballerina was not likely to reach those highs, the film’s budget is reported to be around $90 million, making it more expensive than the first three John Wick films. With this considered, the movie will have to go a long way to make a profit for Lionsgate.

6

Release Delays Eroded The Audience’s Interest

Lionsgate Has Been Talking About This Movie For Years

The first footage of Ballerina was shown at CinemaCon in 2024, long before the eventual release in June 2025. This is notable because the film has actually undergone a number of behind-the-scenes changes since. Initially scheduled for release in June 2024, Lionsgate delayed the film in early 2024 in order to rework some of the action sequences. They brought in John Wick director Chad Stahelski to do this, and the final result shows it was likely for the better, but perhaps not for audience perception.

In the public eye, reshoots and delays are not a good sign for the quality of a film. The situation is, of course, more complicated than this, as reshoots are designed to improve upon the film that exists, not necessarily to fundamentally change it. The reshoots in Ballerina are obvious and show how important they were to the makeup of the story. However, these delays and changes suggest to many casual viewers that the eventual product is not one worth seeing in theaters.

In addition, marketing releasing too early can dampen interest in a film over time. Ballerina received buzz last summer coming out of CinemaCon, and the first Ballerina trailer from September 2024 got some people interested in the film. However, that awareness has been present for too long. For something like Ballerina, many ᴀssumed the film had already come and gone, which resulted in significantly eroded interest by the time opening weekend came.

5

Lionsgate Didn’t Show Faith In The Film

The Review Embargo Was Approached In An Unusual Way

There is also the fact that Lionsgate seemingly did not show enough faith in Ballerina. The reshoots mentioned before were heavily reported on, revealing that more of John Wick was going to be added to the story. While this was exciting for fans of the character, it spoke to the studio not having enough confidence in Ana de Armas’ Eve being enough to lead this film. This seemed to undermine the original premise and attempted to make it more in line with the rest of the series.

In addition, the embargo for reviews was strange and very late. According to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, the initial language in the embargo only allowed for “spoiler-free enthusiasm” on social media from May 22, with “critical social sentiment & formal reviews [being] embargoed” all the way until June 4, only two days before the film’s official release. While films don’t have to lift their review embargo early, this suggests that Lionsgate was not confident in Ballerina.

Most movies today lift their embargo a week or two before release, allowing audiences to understand the film’s reception, while the ones that wind up disappointing usually hold their reviews until as late as possible. This was a strange decision, especially considering that the reviews for Ballerina have actually been quite positive.

4

The Continental Made The Larger Universe Seem Clunky

The John Wick Franchise Has Barely Grown Beyond The Films

For a while, it seemed like spinoffs of John Wick might come to dominate the action sphere in both movies and TV. There have been a number of possibilities discussed over the years, including spinoffs for characters like Halle Berry’s Sofia. That franchise expansion was set to begin with the release of The Continental, a prequel series that looked at Winston’s backstory as he rose up in the world of ᴀssᴀssins. Unfortunately, the Peacock series was underseen and not liked enough by those who did watch it.

As it did not live up to the quality set by the John Wick films, The Continental is unlikely to return for season 2, leaving a bad taste in the mouth concerning the expansion of the franchise overall. While audiences have enjoyed the John Wick movies, this does not mean that the franchise deserves an entire cinematic universe akin to what Marvel Studios has done. With the first release causing disappointment, interest in films like Ballerina was significantly lowered.

3

Len Wiseman Has A Shaky Directing History

The Director Has Not Helmed A Film Since 2012

Len Wiseman was brought on board to direct Ballerina, and it was the first film he’d helmed since 2012’s Total Recall remake. That film was not well-liked, as has been the case for most of Wiseman’s work, according to Rotten Tomatoes. The director only has one film that is fresh on the Tomatometer in Live Free or Die Hard. While many enjoy that project’s PG-13 take on the Die Hard franchise, Wiseman is better known for his Underworld series, where he directed the first two installments, which scored 31% and 17% respectively with critics.

Wiseman certainly has fans, as the Underworld series was big enough to have five films made. However, it is a very niche, dark fantasy series that most casual audiences do not have a great affinity for. This, combined with the failure of Total Recall, which grossed $211 million against a budget of $125 million, showed that Wiseman’s track record did not inspire confidence. Even Lionsgate reaffirmed this when they brought in Chad Stahelski for reshoots on Ballerina, reflecting that they too did not have confidence in the original director.

2

Ballerina Faced Tough Compeтιтion Within The Action Movie Genre

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Continues To Dominate The Action Box Office

Ballerina released to a packed box office, where the multiplex was already full of different films that catered to different demographics. Ballerina promised to be an exciting action film, but it is not the only one currently playing in theaters. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning has had more excitement behind it and, even several weeks into its theatrical run, has still been attracting interest. The Final Reckoning‘s third weekend saw the film earn $14.8 million, likely cutting into Ballerina‘s potential gross.

Ballerina looks fun to most fans of action movies, but The Final Reckoning still seems like more of a must-see. The stunts in the Mission: Impossible movies are bigger and are famed for their practical effects, and while Ballerina promised some great fights and action, the spectacle was not on the same level. For audiences who have not yet seen The Final Reckoning, if faced with the choice between it and Ballerina, there are plenty of reasons to choose Mission: Impossible.

1

John Wick Died, And This Flashback Story Didn’t Feel Essential

John Wick: Chapter 4 Seemed Like The End Of The Story

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stahelski, shepherd of the larger John Wick franchise, wrote off the possibility of doing a live-action prequel. “Keanu and I are not interested in going backwards,” he said, which is odd, because that is exactly what Ballerina has done. Rather than following up on the supposed death of John Wick in Chapter 4, the new film precedes those events, examining a period that has already been seen. This likely contributed to the disappointing box office, as the story did not seem essential.

Audiences have grown to love John Wick and find great interest in this world, but the story needs to progress. By setting Ballerina in the John Wick timeline during the events of Chapter 3 – Parabellum, the story became ancillary. The beloved characters onscreen have already moved beyond that timeline, and even a charismatic star like de Armas was not enough to justify interest in the new film. Instead of furthering the franchise, Ballerina was seen as something redundant, resulting in a lower total for the film.

There will be many more John Wick stories for years to come, but the franchise will need to figure out if it can work beyond its тιтle character. While this world, including elements like The High Table, is compelling, Keanu Reeves as the lead has remained the anchor for the stories. His presence in Ballerina certainly made a difference, but perhaps it didn’t allow Eve to make her own impact. Time will tell if the film is able to build greater interest in subsequent weeks.