Dwayne Johnson’s $250 Million-Budgeted ‘Red One’ Debuts to Chilly $34 Million

 Red One, a Christmas-set action comedy starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Santa Claus’s security chief, debuted with $34.1 million at 4,032 North American theaters. Those ticket sales were enough to top the domestic box office charts and put an end to Venom: The Last Dance’s three-week reign. However, it cost Amazon and MGM’s film  $250 million, excluding global marketing efforts of about $100 million. So Red One is sure to spark further discussion about what counts as  success at a time when streaming services are disrupting traditional business models. Case in point: Warner Bros.’ release Joker: Folie à Deux was quickly labeled a failure, despite grossing $37 million  against a $200 million budget. But last year's "Killers of the Flower Moon," produced by Apple and director Martin Scorsese, grossed $23 million and received more favorable reviews despite being similarly expensive. Turin Film Festival Director Announces World Premiere of Billy Zane's Marlon Brando Biopic: "He's Crazy" on the Late Actor  A $34 million domestic debut isn't bad for an original Christmas movie made for streaming, but The Red One needs to play in theaters throughout the holiday season to justify its hefty price tag. Critics didn't like the movie (it had an average "poor" rating of 33%  on Rotten Tomatoes). But fortunately for Amazon MGM, audiences were enthralled by the story of the kidnapping of Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons), whose hostage situation sparks a rescue mission by a North Pole bodyguard (Johnson) and an experienced bounty hunter (Chris Evans). The film received an "A-" CinemaScore when it premiered. "The movie cost  an estimated $250 million to make." "There's a lot of money in the Santa Claus story," says David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. "The release wasn't a flop, but it's not enough compared to the $250 million it made before marketing and sales. A movie like this shouldn't have been made for more than $150 million." He adds: "There's no double standard for streamers and studios. Amazon, Apple and Netflix aren't going to take a loss." Overseas,  Warner Bros. "Red One," which it distributed, brought in another $14.7 million in 75 markets in its second weekend. That brings the film's total to $50 million internationally and $84.1 million worldwide. "We'll have to wait and see how this impacts the holiday season," Amazon-MGM head of theatrical distribution Kevin Wilson said of the upcoming "Wicked" release. "We have a lot of competition. It's no secret," he said. "Gladiator II and Moana 2. But we're offering something  different than those movies." Amazon-MGM argues that big-budget blockbusters don't necessarily have to be convincing on the big screen to be considered winners. Beyond box office numbers, the financially strong streaming service sees the big screen as a way to generate buzz for Prime Video. However, viewership numbers for streaming services are not reported as consistently as revenue from cinemas. So it's impossible to know if this financial gamble will pay off, but one clue would be whether Amazon MGM greenlights "Red One Two." "Whether people like the movies or not, the value of these movies depends on our business model," Wilson says. "If we can release these movies in theaters and cover our P&A [print and advertising costs], we have to pay for that with a massive marketing campaign  before the movies are streamed." A close second was Venom 3, which grossed another $7.3 million from 3,421 theaters during its fourth weekend of release. So far, the third and final installment of Sony's symbiote saga starring Tom Hardy has grossed $127.6 million domestically and $436.1 million worldwide. "The Last Dance" still trails the franchise's predecessors, 2018's "Venom" ($213 million domestic, $856 million worldwide) and 2021's "Let There Be Carnage" ($213 million domestic, $506 million worldwide). However, the three sequels were relatively inexpensive to make (at least compared to other comic book adaptations) at $120 million, so they should be well positioned in theaters. Lionsgate's family film "The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever" took in $5.4 million from 3,020 theaters, down 50% from its debut, securing the third place spot. After two weekends in theaters, the feel-good Christmas movie has grossed $19.9 million in North America. A24's horror film "The Heretic" dropped to fourth place with $5.16 million from 3,230 theaters, also down about 50 percent from its opening weekend. The cat-and-mouse thriller, about two young Mormon missionaries finding themselves on the doorstep of an evil British man, has grossed $20.4 million in its first 10 days. Universal and DreamWorks Animation's "The Wild Robots" rounded out the top five with $4.3 million from 2,894 theaters in its eighth slot. Ticket sales for the family movie have declined minimally week-over-week (down just 35% this weekend, despite the film being available to rent on premium video-on-demand), resulting in a domestic gross of $137.7 million and a worldwide gross of $308 million. The Red One's failure to spread holiday cheer has left the  domestic box office  more than 11% below 2023 and nearly 27% below 2019, according to ComScore, with moviegoers expected to surge around Thanksgiving, when three blockbuster hits hit theaters. – “Gladiator II” from Paramount and “Wicked” from Universal open Nov. 13. Disney's "Moana 2" hits the big screen on Nov. 27. "The one-two punch of 'Wicked' and 'Gladiator 2' along with 'Moana 2' will generate the biggest Thanksgiving  box office haul in movie history," Comscore senior  analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. "And it's not going to happen anytime soon."