Red One’s disappointing box office performance after its debut is in stark contrast to the film’s production budget and publicity expectations. Although the strong lineup of Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans adds a lot to the film, audiences don’t seem to be attracted by the film’s holiday action comedy setting. The film’s debut box office was only $32.1 million, which is insignificant compared to its estimated budget of $200 million to $250 million. In addition, the response to the film failed to arouse a strong desire to watch the movie, which may be partly due to the old plot or the weakness of the genre.
On the other hand, this box office failure is not completely unprecedented. Johnson’s other films have experienced similar challenges. For example, Black Adam saw a sharp decline after its debut, with the film’s second-week box office plummeting 59%, which is very similar to the trend of Red One. Such rapid box office declines usually have a negative impact on the long-term revenue of a film, especially with such a large budget, making it particularly difficult for the film to break even.
Why did Red One’s second-week box office drop so sharply?
Red One’s second-week box office decline is very significant, with an estimated 59%. This is in line with similarly large declines for Black Adam and Fast & Furious 8, and it is also one of Johnson’s largest declines in a decade. This situation usually indicates that the film’s initial audience base has bottomed out and the film has failed to attract enough secondary viewings or a wider audience.
Considering the high budget of the film itself, the sharp decline in the box office makes its break-even point look far away. Even if the film can rely on the performance of streaming platforms to alleviate this problem in the future, the performance of the theatrical box office is still a warning that cannot be ignored.
However, considering the background of Red One’s original production as a Prime Video exclusive, the film’s revenue model may not be entirely dependent on the theatrical box office. In this case, the core revenue of the film may rely more on its streaming platform. Therefore, although the box office performance of the theater is sluggish, the performance of the streaming platform may have different results, which is crucial to the long-term success of the film. The success of a film is not only reflected in the box office on the big screen but the streaming viewing and audience participation may also bring continued attention to the film.
Can “Red One” make up for the box office losses through streaming platforms?
Although “Red One” performed poorly at the theater box office, the success of the film does not depend entirely on this. Since the film was originally tailored for Prime Video, its final performance may rely more on the audience viewing on the streaming platform. This means that despite the film’s sluggish performance at the theater box office, its audience traffic on Prime Video may bring it additional revenue. Especially during the holiday season, Christmas-themed films usually attract a large number of viewers, and long-term viewing may make up for the early box office losses.
This special model of the streaming platform provides flexibility that traditional theaters cannot match. Not only can the movie be launched quickly worldwide, but it can also interact with users through multiple broadcasts to increase audience stickiness. Therefore, even if the theater box office fails, the wide dissemination of the film on the streaming platform may become an important indicator of its success. At the same time, despite the film’s low Rotten Tomatoes rating, its high rating among viewers may bring more audience base to streaming platforms, thereby driving its continued viewing craze.
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Why does “Red One” still attract some audiences’ interest?
Although “Red One” did not perform well at the box office, it still has a loyal audience. The film’s cast is undoubtedly a highlight that attracts audiences, especially the star effect of Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. The two leading actors have a certain market base in action movies and comedies, which makes their participation attractive to audiences who are interested in such films. In addition, the film’s Christmas theme is also an important factor in attracting audiences, especially when the holiday is approaching, the festive atmosphere itself can stimulate the audience’s desire to watch.
On the other hand, although “Red One” faces certain challenges in word of mouth, its high rating among audiences shows that some audiences can still enjoy the movie. This strong audience feedback may also prompt the film to get more playback volume on subsequent streaming platforms. The entertainment and star effect contained in the film can make up for its shortcomings in script and box office performance, and continue to attract audiences who are looking for light entertainment content.
Source: Deadline