Moviegoers didn’t seem to be embracing the Christmas spirit this weekend, at least not at the “Red One” showings.
The big-budget, star-studded action comedy featuring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans grossed $34.1 million in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates on Sunday. It easily led a box office largely dominated by holdover films.
For traditional studios, a $34.1 million debut against a production budget of over $200 million (with some estimates putting it closer to $250 million) would typically signal a flop. However, “Red One” is released by Amazon MGM Studios, which has the advantage of playing a long-term strategy, not just depending on box office sales. The film may continue to have a life on Prime Video for years.
Originally intended as a direct-to-streaming release before Amazon’s acquisition of MGM, “Red One” was greenlit under different circumstances. One way to interpret its release is that the theatrical earnings serve not just as a bonus but as an additional contribution to support theaters in need of fresh content.
"Amazon has over 250 million global subscribers to its platform. It’s similar to how Netflix approaches content for its service," said Kevin Wilson, head of distribution at Amazon MGM Studios. "The value for a film like this is immense in terms of the number of viewers it can reach."
"Red One," the first major studio holiday release since 2018, debuted on 4,032 screens, including IMAX and other large formats, during a relatively quiet weekend for major releases.
“We’re really happy with the results,” Wilson said. “Given how unforgiving the theatrical marketplace can be, especially for original films, we consider this a strong outcome for us.”
Since 2020, only seven films that were not sequels or based on existing intellectual property have opened to over $30 million, including "Oppenheimer" and "Nope."
Warner Bros. is handling the film's international release, where it has earned an estimated $50 million over two weekends across 75 territories and 14,783 screens.
However, the film hasn't been a major hit in North America. Even "Joker: Folie à Deux" earned slightly more in its opening weekend. Directed by Jake Kasdan and produced by Johnson's Seven Bucks, Red One was largely rejected by critics, earning a poor 33% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Jake Coyle, in his review for The Associated Press, described it as "feeling like an unwanted high-priced Christmas present."
Audiences were more forgiving than critics, giving the film an A- CinemaScore, which suggests the possibility of it becoming a holiday favorite in the future.
Wilson noted that Red One is performing better than expected in the central U.S., and it may hold up well over Thanksgiving as an alternative to the major blockbusters arriving soon.
Meanwhile, Sony's Venom: The Last Dance earned $7.4 million this weekend, securing second place at the box office. Its domestic total now stands at $127.6 million, with a global total of $436.1 million.
Lionsgate's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever took third place with $5.4 million. This modestly budgeted holiday film has already nearly doubled its $10 million production cost in just two weeks. In fourth place was A24’s horror film Heretic starring Hugh Grant, which earned $5.2 million, bringing its total to $20.4 million.
Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot rounded out the top five in its eighth weekend, adding $4.3 million to its total. The animated film has now surpassed $300 million worldwide.
This weekend serves as a pause before the big Thanksgiving releases arrive. Next week, Wicked and Gladiator II will compete in theaters, alongside Moana 2, which also stars Dwayne Johnson, opening on Wednesday before the holiday.
Gladiator II got an early international release this weekend, opening in 63 markets and grossing $87 million. This marks a record for director Ridley Scott and for Paramount’s R-rated international releases. The film will open in the U.S. and Canada on November 22.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, stated that Red One is helping to build momentum leading into the Thanksgiving period.
He noted that the upcoming releases will “finally bring some excitement to what has been a relatively quiet post-Labor Day moviegoing season.”
Dergarabedian also suggested that this could be “one of the biggest revenue-generating Thanksgiving weekends in box office history.”
Final domestic figures will be released on Monday. The estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, are as follows:
- Red One – $34.1 million
- Venom: The Last Dance – $7.4 million
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – $5.4 million
- Heretic – $5.2 million
- The Wild Robot – $4.3 million
- Smile 2 – $3 million
- Conclave – $2.9 million
- Hello, Love, Again – $2.3 million
- A Real Pain – $2.3 million
- Anora – $1.8 million
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