Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans are preparing to spread holiday cheer with their new Christmas team-up, Red One. Given its massive $200 million budget, the blockbuster holiday flick is going to need a lot of help from Santa Claus and his elves if the film’s early box-office tracking is any indication.
Per Deadline, Red One entered early box office tracking with a potential opening of $36 million. While that doesn’t seem all that bad at first glance, it suggests that the film will need to do a lot of work to earn back its $200 million budget. It’s obvious that Amazon MGM Studios has some faith in the project since it began as a streaming release and shifted to theatrical following positive test screenings, but Red One is going to need serious holiday legs and international help to ensure that it at least breaks even.
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There are some signs that Red One, which reunites director Jake Kasdan with Johnson following their work on the Jumanji films, could pull off a box office miracle. Tracking indicates that the movie is resonating not only with Johnson’s female fanbase but also with men who love to see the actor on the big screen. It doesn’t hurt that Evans, who also trends well with both genders, is his co-star. Teenage boys are also responding well to the marketing so far, which certainly helps as that demo drives box office as well.
Red One Faces Stiff Box Office Competition
Red One is entering a crowded marketplace in November as we head into the Thanksgiving corridor with the likes of Wicked, Moana 2, and Gladiator II all expected to appeal to a wide range of demographics. All three of these films are already tracking well with strong pre-sales. In the case of Moana 2, Johnson is competing with himself as he returns to voice Maui in the animated sequel that is already smashing pre-sales records for an animated film this year. There is a chance that there is room for all of these films to succeed, but all signs point to Red One being the lowest-grosser of the four November movies.
Red One comes from an original story by Johnson’s producing partner, Hiram Garcia, and it was written by Fast & Furious vet Chris Morgan. In the Christmas action-adventure film, Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped, which forces the head of North Pole security, Callum Drift (Johnson), to team up with bounty hunter Jack O’Malley (Evans) to save him. The movie also stars Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt and Nick Kroll.
Red One
hits screens on Nov. 15.