Box Office Preview: Dwayne Johnson-Chris Evans’ ‘Red One’ Kicks Off Year-End Tentpole Parade

Box Office Preview: Dwayne Johnson-Chris Evans’ ‘Red One’ Kicks Off Year-End Tent pole Parade

Prior to its acquisition of MGM, Amazon had planned for the $250 million Christmas film to be released directly on Prime Video.

Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson come to the rescue.

After a difficult fall, that is the hope nonetheless, as their new Christmas film, Red One, releases this weekend across North America. According to tracking, the action-adventure film will make a domestic debut for Amazon MGM Studios for between $30 and $35 million before having a successful run through the year-end holidays (fingers crossed).

Nonetheless, given that it cost $250 million to produce, there will be a lot of discussion on the film's box office results. 

Amazon maintains that its business model is completely different and driven by subscribers rather than just box office, but a large legacy studio in the same scenario would face severe scrutiny if a picture bearing that price tag opened to those numbers. It also intends to start a brand-new movie franchise.

The Grinch, which debuted in 2018, is the first authentic Christmas film since before the epidemic, and it features well-known actors. As a result, exhibitors are undoubtedly pleased to screen this film.

The original plot, which is rated PG-13, centers on the kidnapping of Santa Claus, whose code name is "Red One." Johnson, the head of security at the North Pole, must join forces with Evans, the most notorious bounty hunter in the world, in what Amazon MGM calls an action-packed, world-trotting mission to save Christmas.

Starring Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel, and J.K. Simmons, Red One is directed by Jake Kasdan and is based on a story by Hiram Garcia and a screenplay by Chris Morgan. In the United States, it has received negative reviews and is rated PG-13.

After a difficult fall due to a lack of product, Red One is the first of several year-end tentpoles getting ready to open and, if all goes according to plan, put the box office back on the lovely list. Universal's Wicked and Paramount's Gladiator II make their premieres on November 22 and November 27, respectively, while Walt Disney Animation's Moana 2 follows on November 27. (Many have called the well-known corridor "Glicked" or "Moanapocalypse.")