The latest installment of the boxing franchise, “Creed III,” has made an impressive entrance into the box office, raking in $5.45 million in Thursday previews.

With an expected opening weekend earnings of $36 million to $40 million, the film is poised to surpass the franchise’s previous box office records set by the original “Creed” and “Creed II,” which opened with $29.6 million and $35.5 million, respectively.

“Creed III” has also set a new record for preview grosses within the series, surpassing the previous records set by its predecessors in 2015 and 2018.

The latest installment of the “Creed” franchise features Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, a professional boxer and the son of Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers in the “Rocky” films.

In this movie, Adonis faces off against his childhood friend Damien, played by Jonathan Majors, who is also a muscular fighter. Jordan not only stars in the film but also directs, marking his directorial debut. The cast also includes Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Wood Harris, and Florian Munteanu.

Although Sylvester Stallone, who created the “Rocky” franchise and appeared in the previous “Creed” movies, is not in the film, he remains a producer.

“Creed III” is expected to dominate the box office this weekend, with an opening weekend projection of $36 million to $40 million. The film will be in competition with “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” which is expected to earn between $16 million to $19 million in its third weekend of release.

Meanwhile, Lionsgate’s action movie “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre,” starring Jason Statham, opened with $220,000 in Thursday previews and is projected to earn in the mid-to-high single digit range.

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