The year-over-year box office comparison, currently at +47%, seems poised to drop slightly next month, with none of March 2023’s releases projected to quite reach the financial heights of March 2022’s The Batman. Still, this month will include several heavy hitters—including a boxing drama about literal heavy hitters.
Here are the biggest movies coming to theaters this month, in chronological order of their wide release date.
Creed III
Friday, March 3
Premise: Michael B. Jordan makes his directorial debut in this United Artists Releasing’s sports drama, starring as Rocky Balboa’s protégé Adonis Creed alongside Tessa Thompson as his wife and Jonathan Majors as his childhood best friend-turned-rival boxer.
Box office: 2015’s Creed earned $109.7M, while 2018’s sequel Creed II improved slightly with $115.7M.
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
Friday, March 3
Premise: Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza star as secret agents who blackmail a Hollywood movie star, played by Josh Hartnett, into working for them in this Lionsgate R-rated action comedy. Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, 2019’s live-action Aladdin) directs. Originally slated for release in March 2022, the film was delayed for a full year.
Box office: Several of Ritchie’s recent mid-budget action films have earned similar amounts: 2021’s Wrath of Man ($27.4M), January 2020’s The Gentlemen ($36.4M), 2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword ($39.1M), and 2015’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ($45.4M).
Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village
Friday, March 3
Premise: The latest installment in Crunchyroll’s anime Demon Slayer franchise, based on the popular Japanese manga series.
Box office: October 2020’s Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train earned $49.8M.
Scream VI
Friday, March 10
Premise: Masked killer Ghostface is back for a sixth installment of the horror franchise, this time haunting the streets of NYC. And you thought the scariest part of New York City was the rent. 2022’s fifth Scream installment co-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are also back.
Box office: 2022’s Scream made $81.6M. Horror sequels sometimes underperform their predecessors, though: see Halloween Kills ($92.0M) coming in -30% behind Halloween Ends ($64.0M), or It ($328.8M) finishing -35% behind It: Chapter Two ($211.5M).
65
Friday, March 10
Premise: Adam Driver stars in 65 as an astronaut who crash lands on what appears to be a foreign planet—except it’s actually Earth, 65 million years ago. Written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who co-wrote 2018’s A Quiet Place.
Box office: A Quiet Place‘s $188.0M itself is the best-case, if highly unlikely, scenario. Closer to a worst-case scenario may be 2018’s Annihilation with $32.7M or 2022’s Beast with $31.8M.
Champions
Friday, March 10
Premise: Woody Harrelson stars as a professional basketball coach who becomes a Special Olympics coach as part of a court-ordered community service requirement in this Focus Features’ comedy-drama. Bobby Farrelly (There’s Something About Mary and Me, Myself, & Irene) directs.
Box office: Although it’s 18 years old by now, arguably the only other true “Special Olympics sports comedy” was 2005’s The Ringer, which earned $35.4M. Other family-friendly inspirational sports films from more recent years earned comparable amounts, including 2019’s Fighting with My Family ($22.9M) and 2021’s American Underdog ($26.5M).
Inside
Friday, March 10
Premise: Willem Dafoe stars as an art thief attempting to rob an expensive New York City penthouse apartment—in which he finds himself trapped, alone—in Focus Features’ psychological thriller.
Box office: A similar survival movie from an independent distributor in the past few years was 2018’s Adrift from STX, which earned $31.4M.
Shazam!: Fury of the Gods
Friday, March 17
Premise: Zachary Levi returns as the title superhero, a teenager who can transform into an adult simply by saying “Shazam!” In this installment, he faces a team of female villains played by Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu. David F. Sandberg returns as director for the Warner Bros. comedy superhero sequel, based on the DC Comics property.
Box office: 2019’s original Shazam! made $140.3M. The latest entry in the DC Extended Universe, 2022’s Black Adam, earned $168.1M—more than Shazam!, but considered a financial underperformer given the loftier expectations.
John Wick: Chapter 4
Friday, March 24
Premise: Keanu Reeves returns as the title hitman, who comes up with ever more creative ways to kill people in Lionsgate’s R-rated action franchise. Director Chad Stahelski, who helmed all three prior installments, is back in the director’s chair.
Box office: To date, the franchise’s films have claimed progressively bigger earnings. First 2014’s John Wick made $43.0M, then 2017’s John Wick: Chapter Two took in $92.0M, then 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum proved the top film yet with $171.0M.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Friday, March 31
Premise: Chris Pine stars alongside Michelle Rodriguez (The Fast and the Furious franchise), René-Jean Page (Netflix’s series Bridgerton), and Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Dominion and Pokémon: Detective Pikachu) in Paramount’s fantasy comedy, based on the role-playing board game. Duo John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (2018’s Game Night and 2015’s Vacation) direct.
Box office: The best-case scenario would be 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle–another ensemble-driven family-friendly fantasy comedy—with $404.5M, . A worst-case scenario might be something like 2016’s Warcraft, with $47.3M.
A Good Person
Friday, March 31
Premise: Florence Pugh stars as the survivor of a car wreck that killed her fiancé and who subsequently develops an unexpected friendship with the man who would have been her father-in-law, played by Morgan Freeman. Writer-director Zach Braff helms United Artists’ drama, which expands wide on March 31 after opening in limited release the weekend prior.
Box office: Although not an exact genre comparison, Braff’s last directorial effort starring Freeman was 2017’s Going in Style, which earned $45.0M.
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