411 Box Office Report: Red One Displaces Venom At #1 With $34 Million

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson picked up a win at the box office with Red One which opened moderately to claim the top spot this weekend. The holiday action-adventure film charted at #1 with $34.1 million, beating its $30 million expectations coming into the weekend. It’s a better-than-expected result, though it still ranks well below his last opening in Black Adam which grossed $67 million in October of 2022. It did, however, hit higher than the $23 million start of the animated DC League of Super Pets in July of that same year.

The film’s win comes with a major caveat: it’s an expensive movie with a reported $200 million budget. That’s the same cost that Black Adam incurred, and that film ultimately fell short with $168.3 million domestically and $390.5 million worldwide. Johnson’s last hit was Jumanji: The Next Level which totaled $795.4 million worldwide against a $125 million budget.

In other words, Red One has a long haul to get to profit, if it’s attainable at all. Still, it’s a decent result from Amazon MGM Studios, who have mostly been making films for Prime Video and count the $66.2 million domestic-grossing The Beekeeper as their biggest hit thus far. Amazon doesn’t have the theatrical apparatus that the major studios have, and some of Red One’s probable losses will be mitigated by the fact that the film will go to Prime Video once it is done with its theatrical run, much like Air did in early 2023.

A bomb or not, Red One provided a reliable film for theaters this weekend during that awkward space between the horror season of October and the holiday movie season. The film didn’t come in with a huge amount of buzz thanks to negative reviews; the Rotten Tomatoes critics aggregate is a low 33%. However, a positive trend emerged through the weekend: audiences are responding to the film, which has an 89% RT audience rating and an A- CinemaScore. With the film’s holiday theme and marketing as a family blockbuster, that could help it on a potentially lengthy run in theaters which could ease the red ink significantly.

The overseas numbers will help a lot as well. Johnson is a reliable worldwide box office star, and Red One is off to an okay start with $50 million worldwide over two weekends. (Of note, Warner Bros. is handling the overseas rollout and not Amazon MGM). That puts it at $84.1 million thus far. The film is likely to get its way to $115 million or so, perhaps more if the week-to-week holds are strong, and will need a whole lot more overseas as the holidays approach to reach anything approaching profit.

Venom: The Last Dance came in at #2 after three weeks atop the box office. The Sony Spider-Man Universe film scored $7.4 million, down 54% in the wake of Red One’s opening. The film is now at $127.6 million domestically and $436.1 million, a profitable film for the studio against a $120 million budget. As it stands, the film is still looking at around $140 million by the end of its domestic run, a good number all in all.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever was down 50% in its second weekend with $5.4 million. Lionsgate’s Judy Greer-starring comedy reps a much-needed success for the studio with $20 million thus far against a $10 million budget and should make it to $30 million to $34 million or so.

Heretic was also down by about half, slipping 52% in its second weekend to $5.2 million. That’s a fine result for an A24 horror film, bringing the buzzy flick to $20.4 million stateside and $25.4 million worldwide. The movie is already approaching its profit line against a budget of under $10 million and should end its run around $30 million, which the studio will be happy with.

The Wild Robot again held on well, even in the face of new family fare. The animated film was off 34% in its eighth weekend to tally $4.3 million. That puts the movie at $137.8 million domestically and $308.5 million worldwide, a major hit against its $75 million budget. It’s starting to lose a bit of steam but should still get close to $150 million by the end of its domestic run.

Smile 2 was down 42%, bringing in $3 million in its fifth frame. The horror sequel has a stateside total of $65.7 million and $131.9 million worldwide against a budget of just $28 million and marketing, with a $70 million domestic final gross likely.

Conclave had the second-best hold in the top 10, down a mere 31% in its fourth weekend. The religious thriller added $2.9 million to its coffers and is now at $26.6 million domestically and $27.1 million worldwide. With a $20 million budget, it will still need to wait for the overseas numbers to come in. It should reach a stateside total of around $30 million to $32 million.

Coming in at #8 was the Filipino romantic drama Hello, Love, Again. The film from Abramorama Films grossed $2.4 million, very good numbers for a movie that will make most of its money in the Philippines. No word on its budget and it will slip out of the top 10 quickly, but it is in fine shape.

Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain cracked the top 10 in its third weekend as it expanded wide, grossing $2.3 million. The road trip dramedy came into theaters on great reviews (96% RT critic aggregate) but hasn’t made much noise as of yet. It still has room to grow of Searchlight Films decides; it is currently at $3.0 million domestically and $3.3 million worldwide. No word on its budget, but this is a film destined to make its money on VOD anyway.

Anora eased 27% in its fifth weekend as it continues to expand. The Sean Baker-directed drama grossed $1.8 million to bring its totals to $10.5 million domestically and $20.4 million worldwide, already profitable at a $6 million budget. Anora is looking likely to gross at least $15 million and perhaps more depending on whether it ramps up more during award season.

The box office explodes next weekend as Wicked and Gladiator II hope to have their own version of Barbenheimer, finding success as they target different audiences. Wicked is looking at around $120 million to $130 million in its opening weekend as Gladiator II — which got off to a strong overseas start this weekend with $87 million – is aiming at $60 million or so.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Red One – $34.1 million ($34.1 million total, $84.1 million WW)
2. Venom: The Last Dance – $7.4 million ($127.6 million total, $436.1 million WW)
3. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever – $5.4 million ($20.0 million total, $20.0 million WW)
4. Heretic – $5.2 million ($20.4 million total, $25.4 million WW)
5. The Wild Robot – $4.3 million ($137.8 million total, $308.5 million WW)
6. Smile 2 – $3 million ($65.7 million total, $131.9 million WW)
7. Conclave – $2.9 million ($26.6 million total, $27.1 million WW)
8. Hello, Love, Again – $2.4 million ($$2.4 million total, $$2.4 million WW)
9. A Real Pain – $2.3 million ($3.0 million total, $3.3 million WW)
10. Anora – $1.8 million ($10.5 million total, $20.4 million WW)