Red One, the Christmas action-comedy starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, is estimated to earn a mediocre $30 million to $35 million from over 4,000 locations in its opening weekend. Originally meant to be a streaming release for Prime Video, Amazon MGM decided to give the film a theatrical release, partially due to how expensive the film is. The film costs over $250 million before marketing, which is very hefty, especially for an original movie. As it sits, it seems unlikely Red One will be very profitable in its theatrical run.
However, since it was not originally planned for a theatrical release, Amazon MGM views any profit the film brings in as a win. The company is likely to drop Red One on streaming or VOD before the holiday season ends to cash in while people at home are in the spirit.
Red One currently sits at 37% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it is still unclear if this will significantly impact how many casual movie-goers see the film. Even still, the film will easily top the charts for this week as it is the only major release this weekend. Venom: The Last Dance has been at the top for three weeks, but even that film has had middling returns.
The film follows Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), Santa’s #1 bodyguard, as he teams up with renowned bounty hunter Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) as they lead a mission to rescue a kidnapped Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons). Early reviews say the film is superficially entertaining at times but ultimately lacks any substance or holiday magic with its endless one-liners and heavy CGI gloss. Still, there is no audience score for the film as of yet.
Red One arrives in U.S. theaters on November 15.
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