Red One Box Office Debut: Dwayne Johnson’s Christmas Comedy Struggles with $34.1M Opening

“Red One” Box Office Debut

• “Red One” opened in theaters, earning $34.1 million from 4,032 North American locations.
• The film, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, portrays Santa’s head of security in a holiday action-comedy.
• This performance ended the three-week top spot of “Venom: The Last Dance.”

Budget and Success Debate

• The production budget for “Red One” was $250 million, excluding a $100 million marketing budget.
• Critics scored the film poorly with a 33% average on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Despite this, audiences gave it an “A-” grade on CinemaScore, indicating some enjoyment.
• The film must perform well through the holiday season to be considered financially viable.

Industry Perspectives

• David A. Gross from Franchise Entertainment Research remarked that the opening is decent but insufficient given the high costs.
• Gross suggested that films like this should cap at a $150 million budget.
• Amazon MGM views theatrical releases as a way to promote Prime Video rather than solely relying on box office numbers.

Other Box Office Performances

• “Venom 3” earned $7.3 million in its fourth weekend, totaling $127.6 million domestically.
• “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” came in third with $5.4 million.
• A24’s horror film “Heretic” and Universal’s “The Wild Robot” marked fourth and fifth, respectively.

Overall Market Trends

• Domestic box office revenues for 2023 remain down over 11% and nearly 27% compared to 2019.
• Anticipation grows for upcoming films like “Gladiator II,” “Wicked,” and “Moana 2,” expected to boost box office numbers during Thanksgiving.