Dwayne Johnson’s $200 million-plus Christmas pic opens to $34.1 million
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[November 18, 2024]
By LINDSEY BAHR
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Moviegoers were not exactly feeling the Christmas
spirit this weekend, or at least not based on their attendance at “Red
One” showings.
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,
according to studio estimates Sunday. It easily topped a box office
populated mostly by holdovers.
For traditional studios, a $34.1 million debut against a $200
million-plus production budget would be a clear indication of a flop.
Some even peg the budget closer to $250 million. But “Red One” is an
Amazon MGM Studios release with the luxury of playing the long game
rather than relying solely on global box office where Johnson tentpoles
often overperform. The film may have a life on Prime Video for years to
come.
“Red One,” in which Johnson plays Santa’s bodyguard, was originally
built to go straight-to-streaming. It was greenlit prior to Amazon's
acquisition of MGM. One interpretation of its lifecycle is that the
theatrical earnings are not only just a bonus, but an additive gesture
toward struggling theaters looking for a consistent stream of new films.
“Amazon has 250 million plus worldwide subscribers to the platform. It’s
similar to the way Netflix, I think, looks at stuff for their platform,”
said Kevin Wilson, head of distribution for Amazon MGM Studios. “There’s
a there’s a massive value for a movie like this in terms of how many
eyeballs you’re going to get.”
The first major studio holiday release since 2018, “Red One” opened on
4,032 screens, including IMAX and other large formats, on an otherwise
quiet weekend for major releases.
“We’re really happy with the results," Wilson said. “I think when you
look at the theatrical marketplace that's sometimes unforgiving,
especially for original films, this is a good result for us.”
Since 2020, only seven films that weren't sequels or based on another
piece of intellectual property have opened over $30 million (including
“Oppenheimer” and “Nope.”)
Warner Bros. is handling the overseas release, where it has made an
estimated $50 million in two weekends from 75 territories and 14,783
screens.
Still, it’s certainly not a theatrical hit in North America. Even
“Joker: Folie à Deux” made slightly more in its first weekend. “Red
One,” directed by Jake Kasdan and produced by Johnson’s Seven Bucks, was
roundly rejected by critics, with a dismal 33% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Jake Coyle, in his review for The Associated Press, wrote that it “feels
like an unwanted high-priced Christmas present.”
Audiences were kinder than they were to “Joker 2,” giving it an A-
CinemaScore, suggesting, perhaps, that the idea of it becoming a
perennial holiday favorite is not so off-base.
“Red One” is also overperforming in the middle of the country, Wilson
said, and perhaps will have a nice holdover over Thanksgiving as a
different option to the behemoths on the way.
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This image released by Prime shows Dwayne Johnson, left, and Chris
Evans in a scene from "Red One." (Frank Masi/Prime via AP)
Sony's “Venom: The Last Dance” added
$7.4 million this weekend's box office to take second place,
bringing its domestic total to $127.6 million. Globally, its total
stands at $436.1 million.
Lionsgate's “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” landed in third with
$5.4 million. That much more modestly budgeted Christmas movie has
already nearly doubled its $10 million production budget in two
weeks. Fourth place went to A24’s Hugh Grant horror “Heretic,” with
$5.2 million, bumping its total gross to $20.4 million.
Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild
Robot” rounded out the top five in its eighth weekend in theaters
with an additional $4.3 million. The animated film surpassed $300
million worldwide.
This weekend is a bit of a stopover before the Thanksgiving
tentpoles arrive. Next week, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” face off in
theaters with “Moana 2”, which also stars Johnson, sailing in the
Wednesday before the holiday.
“Gladiator II” also got a bit of a head start internationally, where
it opened in 63 markets this weekend to gross $87 million. That's a
record for filmmaker Ridley Scott and for an R-rated international
release from Paramount. It opens in the U.S. and Canada on Nov. 22.
Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore, said that
the “Red One” is helping set into motion a momentum leading into the
Thanksgiving corridor.
The upcoming releases, he said, “will finally bring some excitement
to what has been a somewhat quiet post-Labor Day moviegoing
marketplace.”
Dergarabedian added that it could be “one of the biggest revenue
generating Thanksgiving periods 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.
8. “Hello, Love, Again,” $2.3 million.
9. “A Real Pain,” $2.3 million.
10. “Anora,” $1.8 million.
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