https://www.blackenterprise.com/creed-iii-comes-out-swinging-debuts-with-58-7-million/
Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut entered the ring and walked away with an estimated $58 million in ticket sales. According to the Associated Press, Creed III was expected to earn only in the $30 million range.
The third installment of Creed finds Jordan’s character, Adonis, slugging with his childhood friend, Dame, who is played by Jonathan Majors.
During their many promos runs, Jordan and Majors spoke to The New York Times. Jordan told NYT why he chose Majors for this role.
“I knew he had range. I didn’t know his education, but I knew he studied,” Jordan said to NYT. “And he had layers behind him, you could tell. Then you’re kind of curious, like, “He’s one to watch. I wonder what the choices are going to be next. I know how I would move.”
Jordan added: “I was like, “Oh, I could work with him.” Especially for me, as I’m thinking about movies and scripts that I have in development, I’m always thinking about other cats that I want to put into the film.”
Initially, Majors had a lot of things to consider before agreeing to participate in Creed III.
“I just thought, “There’s no way.” I was already doing my risk analysis on the film when I got the call. I was thinking, “What’s worth it? How much am I going to eat?”
Majors added: “No, literally, how much do I got to eat? [Laughs.] I’m in the movie for fight scenes, and I’m going to put my ass in. But to be truthful, I was moving on faith. Two alphas? No, bro, we both cannot survive. Somebody’s got to die. That’s the game I thought I was entering into, and he just kept saying, “I got you, bro.” I was like, “Boy, all right.”
Jordan chimed in saying: ”I wanted to make sure he was always excited about what he was doing, because I was. After having a conversation with him, I was like, “This is my teammate right here, somebody that I could push, and something tells me he’s going to push me, too.”
AP News also reported that Creed III has an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore.