Nobody could’ve imagined a decade ago that a movie about an ex-hitman getting revenge against the Russian mafia for the death of his puppy would become a massive hit and a billion-dollar franchise. Yet here we are. Despite its slow start, 2014’s John Wick ended up garnering tens of millions of dollars, leading to the birth of one of the greatest action franchises since the Rambo, Die Hard, and Bourne series. Three sequel movies, a TV mini-series, and an upcoming spin-off later, Keanu Reeves’ Baba Yaga have become a household name.
However, the whole thing almost didn’t happen. Getting a new, non-franchised project off the ground in the time of massive franchise blockbusters with Disney’s label on them is really difficult to pull off, and John Wick was no exception. Put simply, franchises often have years of data on how to perform across demographics and markets, making it easier for movie studios to predict profitability. This makes non-franchise releases riskier compared to established franchises, often leading to scarcer funding, smaller budgets, and overall lower production quality.
The original John Wick movie suffered from the same problem even before the production began. During the interview with Business Insider, the creators of the original film, David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, recalled how the movie about the greatest hitman ever was saved by none other than a desperate housewife. All jokes aside, Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria invested $6 million of her own money to support the production of 2014’s John Wick at the eleventh hour — had she not provided the money at that crucial moment, the production would surely have shut down.
At the time, Longoria had limited experience with investments and wasn’t actually aware of the potential returns. In a recent interview, the actor admitted that she knew next to nothing about investing, and while she wished she could say she was an investment genius who had calculated the risks involved with the project, Longoria confessed it wasn’t the case. Instead, she received a piece of advice from an agent — not even her own — saying that she should invest in the upcoming film.
Reflecting upon her experience, Longoria shared her love for investing in people who are passionate and dedicated about their projects, noting that both Chad Stahelski and David Leitch exemplified dedication and passion. Both had invested their 10,000 hours as stunt professionals and second unit directors, and their passion convinced her that they would produce an extraordinary product — and they most certainly delivered.
So, despite the financial struggles and the industry executives’ dismissive attitude towards an action movie by first-time directors and the declining career of its star, John Wick released on October 24, 2014, proving naysayers wrong. John Wick exceeded box-office projections and became a modest success, grossing $86 million worldwide against an estimated budget of $20–30 million. It received plenty of praise for its style and action sequences and was hailed as a comeback for Reeves, whose recent movies at the time were financially underperforming.
More importantly, John Wick began a rather successful franchise that, as mentioned before, includes three sequels, a prequel TV series, and an upcoming spin-off, as well as video games and comic books. Stahleski and Leitch later took Longoria out to a well-deserved dinner to thank her for her last-minute investment, which effectively saved John Wick from collecting dust on a shelf, with Leitch later sharing that Longoria told him that investing in the movie was the best money she’d ever spent.
Eva Longoria, the savior angel of the original John Wick, said that she’s still benefiting financially from her initial investment and has revealed that she made at least $12 million from investing in the movie. However, she added that her only regret was not being connected to the rest of the films in the franchise, saying, “This was a one-time thing. That was the gamble. But that was my only mistake, not being attached to all of the films.” This experience marked the beginning of Longoria’s investment career, leading her back to various ventures, including a cookware line and a tequila brand.
The actor opened a restaurant called Beso (which means “kiss” in Spanish) in Hollywood, which grew into a corporation and has had various collaborations with different brands. In 2005, Longoria started her own production company, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, which signed a two-year first-look deal with Universal Pictures and renewed a three-year first-look deal with 20th Television in 2020. Her production company produced the television series Ready for Love, Telenovela, and Grand Hotel.
UnbeliEVAble Entertainment was later acquired by Hyphenate Media Group, the same company that worked on the original John Wick movie and the Reversing Roe documentary and continues to produce Connections with Eva Longoria and Hungry for History with Eva Longoria and Maite Gomez-Rejon podcasts. For those interested, John Wick just celebrated its 10th anniversary with a special screening celebrating the entire franchise and its massive contributions to cinema and the action genre.