Based on their attendance at “Red One” shows, moviegoers were not exactly feeling the Christmas spirit this weekend or otherwise.
Studio estimates Sunday show that the big budget, star-driven action comedy with Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans sold $34.1 million in tickets in its first weekend in theaters. It topped a box office mostly occupied by holdovers quite effortlessly.
A $34.1 million debut against a $200 million-plus production budget would be unmistakable evidence of a flop for conventional studios.
Some even have the budget more near to $250 million. But “Red One” is an Amazon MGM Studios release with the luxury of playing the long game rather than depending just on worldwide box office where Johnson tentpoles often overperform. The movie might find a lifetime on Prime Video years to come.
Originally developed to go straight-to-streaming, “Red One” features Johnson as Santa’s bodyguard.
It was approved before Amazon bought MGM. One view of its lifespan is that the theatrical profits are not only a bonus but also an additive gesture toward struggling theaters seeking a constant supply of fresh films.
Amazon boasts 250 million plus global platform users. Kevin Wilson, head of distribution for Amazon MGM Studios, said, “It’s similar to the way Netflix, I believe, views material for their platform.” “Based on the number of eyeballs you will get, a movie like this has great value.”
Opening on 4,032 screens including IMAX and other big formats, “Red One” marked the first significant studio holiday release since 2018 on an otherwise quiet weekend for major distribution.
Wilson remarked, “We are rather pleased with the outcome.” “I think this is a good outcome for us when you look at the sometimes merciless theater market, particularly for original films.”
Only seven movies not based on another piece of intellectual property or a sequel opening over $30 million in 2020 (including “Oppenheimer” and “Nope”).
Handling the overseas release, Warner Bros. has made an estimated $50 million in two weekends from 75 territories and 14,783 screens.
Still, it is most definitely not a North American theatrical hit. Even “Joker: Folie à Deux” generated somewhat more on its first weekend. With a dismal 33% Rotten Tomatoes score, “Red One,” directed by Jake Kasdan and produced by Johnson’s Seven Bucks, was fiercely turned off by critics. Reviewing for The Associated Press, Jake Coyle said it “feels like an unwanted high-priced Christmas present.”
With audiences kinder than they were for “Joker 2,” the A- CinemaScore suggests, maybe, that the concept of it turning into a perennial holiday favorite is not so off-target.
Wilson added that “Red One” is also overperforming in the middle of the nation and might have a nice holdover over Thanksgiving as a different choice to the behemoths on route.
With its domestic total at $127.6 million, Sony’s “Venom: The Last Dance” added $7.4 million this weekend’s box office to take second place. Its combined worldwide is $436.1 million.
Third with $5.4 million was Lionsgate’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” In two weeks, that much more modestly budgeted Christmas film has already almost doubled its $10 million production expenditure. With $5.2 million and a $20.4 million total gross, A24’s Hugh Grant horror “Heretic” placed fourth.
Completing the top five in its eighth weekend in theaters with an additional $4.3 million, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot” rounded out The animated picture exceeded $300 million globally.
Before the Thanksgiving tentpoles show up this weekend is somewhat of a stopover. Following “Moana 2,” which also stars Johnson, sailing on Wednesday before the holiday, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” square off in theatres next week.
Globally, “Gladiator II” also had a bit of a head start; this weekend it opened 63 markets to gross $87 million. For filmmaker Ridley Scott as well as for an R-rated worldwide release from Paramount, that is an exceptional record. November 22 opens it in the United States and Canada.
Senior Comscore media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said that the “Red One” is enabling a momentum headed into the Thanksgiving corridor to be set in motion.
“They will finally bring some excitement to what has been a somewhat quiet post-Labor Day moviegoing marketplace,” he said of the forthcoming releases.
Dergarabedian also mentioned that it could be “one of the biggest revenue generating Thanksgiving seasons in box office history.”
Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
- 1. “Red One,” $34.1 million.
- 2. “Venom: The Last Dance,” $7.4 million.
- 3. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” $5.4 million.
- 4. “Heretic,” $5.2 million.
- 5. “The Wild Robot,” $4.3 million.
- 6. “Smile 2,” $3 million.
- 7. “Conclave,” $2.9 million.
- 9. “A Real Pain,” $2.3 million.
- 10. “Anora,” $1.8 million.
