How much did Red One earn on the first day of release? Everything we know so far

The action-comedy Christmas film, Red One, starring Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and Lucy Liu premiered in theatres across the United States on November 15, 2024.

Despite its overall budget being estimated between $200 and $250 million, the movie experienced a modest opening of $34 million, according to industry experts as reported by Variety.

This labelling indicates that the criteria for determining whether a movie is deemed a hit or a flop depends on various factors such as production costs, marketing expenses, and distribution expenditures.

Thus, if another movie produced at a similar budget earns less at the box office than Red One, it may be classified as a hit, while this film might not be.

For example, Joker: Folie à Deux, which had a budget comparable to Red One, was deemed a flop after earning approximately $37 million on its opening day. Conversely, Killers of the Flower Moon, which also had a similar budget, was not labelled a flop even though it earned around $23 million on its release day.

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Red One received a lukewarm box office opening on its first day of release in the United States

A lot of expectations were placed on the Christmas-themed movie, Red One, but judging by its opening day ticket sales, the film has not succeeded in satisfying the critics, as has been previously mentioned.

It brought in around $34 million on its first day, despite being screened in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, and other premium large-format formats.

On popular reviewing platforms such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, industry experts have clearly expressed their dislike for the film by giving it poor ratings and scores. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a rating of 33 per cent from critics, while it received a score of 34 out of 100 on Metacritic.

That said, it seems that audiences are enjoying the movie more than the critics are, as reflected in its high score of 90 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. On Metacritic, however, the audience score is nearly comparable to the critics' score at 4.8 out of 10.

Given below are a few comments from members of the audience on Rotten Tomatoes that highlight the general crowd's love for the film. One user writes:

"A lot of holiday fun with some great underlying themes. It’s a feel good twist on Santa movies that delivers the Christmas spirit with silliness, comedy, action, adventure and imaginative creativity. This is an audience pleaser. Ignore the critics. Most of them got this wrong which is usually the case when audience scores are high and critic scores are low. Content collapsed."

Another user writes:

"I Loved the Movie . It was action packed , funny, sad and serious. It had a beautiful message. Believing in santa gives us hope and also to be compassionate and show you care. Show Love. Over Evil. Very heartfelt and happy ending."

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What is the movie about?

Red One is written by Chris Morgan from a story by Hiram Garcia. It is directed by Jake Kasdan and is made under the banners of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Seven Bucks Productions. It is distributed in the United States by Amazon MGM Studios and internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures.

The plot of the film chronicles the abduction of Santa, an event that sets in motion a rescue effort led by his bodyguard in the North Pole (played by Dwayne Johnson) and an experienced bounty hunter (played by Chris Evans).

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Red One is currently running in theatres.