John Wick 4, Creed III, Shazam Or 65: Which March Movie Release Are Benzinga Users Most Excited About

The 2023 box office performance is expected to top the performance from 2022 and continue to pace closer to pre-COVID-19 pandemic figures. Movie theater executives have credited a strong slate of movies for the 2023 year.

In the month of March, several major movies will be released, including several sequels in well-known franchises.

Here’s a look at some of the most anticipated March releases.

What Happened: The month of March will see several potential blockbuster movies released from some of the biggest media companies. Several of the movies were featured in ads during Super Bowl LVII due to their close proximity in their release dates to the big game.

Benzinga recently polled its users on Twitter to see which of four highly anticipated March releases was the favorite pick.

“What March movie release are you most excited for?” Benzinga asked on Twitter.

The possible answers were:

“John Wick Chapter 4” from Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF-A), March 24

“Creed III” from MGM, a unit of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, March 3

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods” from Warner Bros. Discovery Inc WBD, March 17

“65” from Sony Group Corp SONY, March 10

The winner of the poll was “John Wick Chapter 4” getting 63.6% of the vote. Following the winner was “Creed III” with 20.2%, “65” with 9.4% and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” with 6.8%.

Related Link: 2022 Box Office Performance, Year Of The Sequel: Top 10 Movies And Which Stocks To Watch 

What’s Next: Three of the movies listed have yet to open with “Creed III” having one weekend in the books and setting a record.

“Creed III” opened with $58.4 million domestically and over $100 million worldwide. The movie set a record as the highest-debuting sports film domestically, beating the 2010 release “The Karate Kid” ($55.6 million).

The movie’s success could provide a boost to Amazon, which acquired MGM for $8.5 billion to boost its movie and television content library. 

The movie had the biggest open in the history of the “Rocky” franchise and could show that the franchise can live on without including the Rocky character or actor Sylvester Stallone in the films.

“John Wick Chapter 4” continues the franchise from Lions Gate starring Keanu Reeves. The franchise gained in popularity with the first movie released in 2014 grossing $43 million domestically and $86 million worldwide. Sequels released in 2017 and 2019 grossed $171.5 million and $328.3 million worldwide, respectively.

“65” is a new film and the only non-sequel included in the poll. The movie stars Adam Driver as a survivor who finds himself on Earth 65 million years ago fighting against dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts. The movie could turn into a franchise if it has a successful box office run.

Coming in last place in the poll is the “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” movie, a sequel to the 2019 superhero movie. The first movie grossed $140.5 million domestically and $366.1 million worldwide. The movie is part of the continued expansion of the DC Comics franchise by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Follow Benzinga on Twitter to take part in more polls.

Photo: Jonathan Majors and Jose Benavidez in "Creed III" via IMdB