It is officially the holiday season, which means the release of many new holiday movies! The first one to be released on the big screen was “Red One,” led by a star-studded cast of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chris Evans, JK Simmons, and Lucy Liu. The trailers promised a high-octane Christmas adventure around Johnson and Evans saving Simmons’ Santa Claus. However, moviegoers have not been as enthusiastic about heading to the theaters to see the movie. On opening day, it made a mere $10.9 million and is in danger of not recouping the massive production budget.
‘Red One’ Heading For Epic Flop
The production budget for the movie is reported to be anywhere between $200-250 million. This doesn’t include the marketing costs, something the studio has likely spent a pretty penny on. In the weeks leading up to the movie, I personally saw many ads encouraging me to head to my local movie theater to see “The Rock” in another action film. Like me, it doesn’t seem like people were inspired to go. Projections are the movie will make around $30 million in its opening weekend. The movie could make more in subsequent weekends, but it will be an uphill battle.
Next week, there are three movies releasing that have been getting a ton of buzz. “Wicked” makes its debut on the big screen after being one of the most popular stage shows of all time. The marketing for that movie has been even more aggressive than “Red One,” with many brands partnering with the studio to promote the movie. The other two movies are highly-anticipated sequels, “Gladiator II” and “Moana 2.” This will limit the sustainability of the movie in theaters.
What Went Wrong?
One thing the movie does have going for it is that fans love it. Critics panned the movie but in recent years, fans have made their own voices known. Movie critics are supposed to be critical of the movies. Sometimes, fans simply want to go to the movies and have fun! “Red One” offers that type of holiday fun. The movie doesn’t have a complex plot, offers lots of action, and fan-favorite actors. While Rotten Tomatoes has the movie at a critics’ score of 32%, the audiences have it currently sitting at 88%. If fans are loving it, why is it trending to be a box office flop?
“Red One” wasn’t released by one of the big movie studios. It was released by Amazon MGM Studios, marking the first attempt at the box office for a streaming service. That inexperience, paired with a massive CGI budget, is a recipe for lackluster results. Many movies have started to go back to practical effects in order to save production costs. “Red One” leaned into the CGI budget with monster snowmen and plenty of North Pole shenanigans. That ballooned cost put a lot of pressure on the movie to do well at the box office. Amazon is adamant that this movie will pay dividends down the road, and we won’t see its fruits until later.
A Streaming Darling
More than likely, “Red One” will become a popular streaming choice for many people. Whenever Amazon decides to put the movie on Prime Video, many casual moviegoers will likely give it a chance based on the cast and possibly recommendations from family and friends. Personally, that is when I will be watching it, and maybe this points out one of the issues all movie studios need to consider.
People are busy. Personally, I don’t have many nights when I have the time or energy to go see a movie. On top of that, theaters may not have a time that is convenient for me. Then there is the cost. A movie ticket plus some snacks for you and a date can cost a lot, depending on where you live. If you have children, babysitting also has to be factored in. Many people would rather wait until they can watch it at home, on their schedule, and be able to start and stop if necessary.
“Red One” looks like a fun movie, and it will be interesting to see how it will do next weekend against the major blockbusters. If it can draw a holiday crowd, it maybe could make more than people think. It will be interesting to see how Amazon views the movie after it closes at the box office.
