Red One, a Christmas action-comedy starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Santa’s head of security, opened with a soft $34.1 million from 4,032 theaters in North America. Despite topping the domestic box office, the film’s debut falls short of expectations, especially considering its hefty $250 million production budget and an additional $100 million for global marketing.
While Red One beat Venom: The Last Dance after a three-week run at the top, the film’s large budget is raising questions about what counts as a success. For comparison, Joker: Folie à Deux, which had a $200 million budget, was considered a flop after earning $37 million on its opening weekend. Meanwhile, Killers of the Flower Moon, despite also costing a lot to make, was seen more favorably after opening to $23 million.
Although a $34 million opening isn’t bad for a Christmas movie originally meant for streaming, Red One will need strong performance through the holiday season to make back its massive budget. Critics have given the film poor reviews, with a 33% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, audiences seem to have enjoyed it more, giving the film an “A-” grade on CinemaScore. The plot revolves around Santa (J.K. Simmons) being kidnapped, and his rescue by his North Pole bodyguard (Johnson) and a skilled bounty hunter (Chris Evans).
Film industry expert David A. Gross pointed out that the opening is not disastrous but still not enough to justify such a high budget. “A film like this should not have been made for more than $150 million,” he said. Gross also emphasized that streaming companies like Amazon are not in the business of losing money.
Overseas, Red One added $14.7 million in its second weekend, bringing its international total to $50 million and global total to $84.1 million.
Kevin Wilson, head of Amazon MGM’s theatrical distribution, said the company’s focus is not just on box office earnings but also on the value of creating buzz for their Prime Video platform. Amazon is betting that the marketing exposure through theaters will help boost the film’s streaming success later.
Meanwhile, Venom 3 took second place with $7.3 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its total domestic earnings to $127.6 million and global total to $436.1 million. While its numbers are trailing previous Venom films, it’s still expected to make a solid return due to its lower production cost of $120 million.
Lionsgate’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever came in third with $5.4 million, and A24’s horror film Heretic earned $5.16 million, both seeing 50% drops from their openings. Universal’s The Wild Robot rounded out the top five with $4.3 million.
Overall, box office revenues remain down 11% from 2023 and 27% from 2019. However, analysts are expecting a big boost over the Thanksgiving holiday with upcoming releases like Gladiator II, Wicked, and Moana 2, which could drive one of the biggest holiday weekends in box office history.