John Wick director reveals the hit action franchise was saved at the eleventh hour by a $6 million investment from one unlikely A-lister. The first movie in the franchise, 2014’s John Wick, starred Keanu Reeves in the titular role as a retired hitman who takes revenge against the gangsters who kill his puppy. The movie was a box office success, grossing a little under $90 million against a production budget of less than $20 million, and spawned three sequels and a spinoff, but the movie almost didn’t happen.