Keanu Reeves making a comeback, and a successful one at that, was an idea that most movie critics had shelved away for years. But like his character in The Matrix, Keanu has managed to prove the naysayers wrong with his latest offering John Wick: Chapter 2. While many had written off the success of the first installment as a fluke, the second film’s $30 million opening weekend shows that the franchise is here to stay. Not only is this a success when you compare it to some of the star’s recent flops, but Hollywood at large is impacted too – John Wick now has the fourth highest opening weekend revenue of the year, according to a report in Bloomberg. Not just that, it’s fared decently abroad too, earning around $10 million.
Franchises have proven to be Keanu’s best friends, if you look back at The Matrix and now the John Wick series. This makes sense when you consider that action franchises are rarely the movies that boast of stellar acting or extensive character development. More often than not a few vital scenes are strung together by action sequences rather than a viable plot. Yet, this works wonderfully well for Keanu and he is ready to milk the new found mother-load.
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Franchises are also any Hollywood producer’s best friend as well. In terms of money-making, a franchise already has an established fanbase and guaranteed success based on the past performance. The actors come cheaper too because they are signed on for three-movie deals or more in one go, which costs much less than negotiating with fresh actors on new projects each time. At the launch of any new series – be it Avengers, Batman or Alice In Wonderland – producers are all set to make the follow-up, which they either act on or shelve, based on the first movie’s success. The combination of Keanu and a franchise spells easy money for distributor Lions Gate and it’s perhaps the best ending Keanu fans could have asked for their aging hero.