“It ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how you can get hit and keep moving forward,” Sylvester Stallone famously said.
In this case, Creed III has hit harder than any previous installment of the boxing saga. After its third weekend in theaters, Michael B. Jordan’s directorial debut has reportedly made a $224 million impact at the global box office. In comparison, Creed brought in $173 million globally and Creed II generated 213 million at the box office.
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson and Jonathan Majors, Creed III is the first of the Rocky/Creed franchise to move forward without Stallone. In his absence, Jordan and company tell an emotional story of brotherhood, pain and forgiveness. After experiencing a traumatic altercation and arrest that leads Majors’ character, Damian, into a lengthy prison sentence, Damian and Adonis reunite, but things are less than stellar between the two. Their brotherhood has turned to dust and the two men choose to fight it out in the ring.
“The first Rocky came out in 1976 and showed no sign of being the kind of movie that would spawn eight follow-ups. But with the inventiveness of Creed III, an old franchise suddenly feels fresh,” David Sims of The Atlantic said.
Creed III will not spell the end of the Rocky and Creed story. Jordan has said that another Creed film is in the works. Adding on, recent reports from Deadline indicate that a “Creed-verse” with multiple spinoff projects may be in the works.
