The Albany Gazette - 'Red One' tops N.America box office but could end up in the red

NYSE - LSE

SCS	-0.3%	13.23	$
RELX	-3.37%	44.45	$
RBGPF	100%	61.84	$
GSK	-1.95%	33.35	$
RIO	0.9%	60.98	$
AZN	-2.86%	63.23	$
NGG	0.61%	62.75	$
CMSD	0.34%	24.44	$
RYCEF	0.59%	6.82	$
CMSC	0.08%	24.57	$
BCC	-0.19%	140.09	$
BCE	-0.07%	26.82	$
VOD	1.03%	8.77	$
BTI	2.47%	36.39	$
JRI	0.18%	13.1	$
BP	-0.24%	28.98	$

'Red One' tops N.America box office but could end up in the red

ECONOMY 17.11.2024

'Red One' tops N.America box office but could end up in the red / Photo: JC Olivera - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

Amazon and MGM's new winter holiday film "Red One" opened solidly atop the North American box office this weekend with estimated ticket sales of $34.1 million, but with a budget estimated at $250 million analysts say it faces a tricky path to profitability.

Text size:

"This is a soft opening for a movie that was designed from the beginning to launch a new Christmas action comedy series," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

He said the film was a crowd-pleaser but that its $250 million budget -- including a reported $50 million cost overrun -- meant its opening was "not a disaster but ... not enough" to ensure profitability.

The Christmas comedy has Dwayne ("the Rock") Johnson, as head of North Pole security, enlisting the help of a hacker (Chris Evans) to track down a kidnapped Santa Claus (played by the not-exactly-jolly J.K. Simmons) on Christmas Eve.

"Red One" unseated Sony's horror movie "Venom: the Last Dance," which slipped to second, taking in an estimated $7.4 million in its fourth weekend out.

"Venom," starring Tom Hardy, has now earned $127.6 million domestically and $308 million internationally.

In third place was Lionsgate's comedy-drama "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever," at $5.4 million. Pete Holmes stars in the tale of a notoriously rowdy bunch of siblings who end up giving a surprising performance in a small town's Christmas show.

A24's horror movie "Heretic," which has famous charmer Hugh Grant turning decidedly fiendish, dropped one spot from last weekend to fourth, with ticket sales of $5.2 million.

Slipping to fifth but still raking in $4.3 million in its eighth weekend out was Universal's family-friendly animation "The Wild Robot."

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Smile 2" ($3 million)

"Conclave" ($2.9 million)

"Hello, Love Again" ($2.4 million)

"A Real Pain" ($2.3 million)

"Anora" ($1.8 million)

(C.Young--TAG)