'Red One' Clears $3.7M in Previews; Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans' $200M+ Production Eyes $35M Opening — Friday AM Box Office

Christmas has come early to the box office.

Amazon MGM Studio's Christmas picture Red One, starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, grossed $3.7 million in Thursday previews before launching throughout North America on Friday. The big-budget tentpole will be shown in 4,032 theaters this weekend, including Imax, Dolby Cinema, and other premium large-format screens.

Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson in 'Red One.'

Amazon Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection

According to tracking, the film will earn between $30 million and $35 million in its American debut. Warner Bros. Pictures is releasing the Seven Bucks picture internationally, where Red One grossed $28 million this year, to avoid a direct competition with Paramount's Gladiator II, which opens this weekend at the foreign box office a week before its home release. (Ridley Scott's Gladiator sequel might gross $80 million or more in its international debut.)

Red One's box office success will be keenly examined, given that it cost $250 million to produce. A large legacy studio in the same scenario would face heavy criticism if a picture with that price tag debuted to similar figures, but Amazon argues its economic model is completely different and is driven by subscriptions rather than box office. It also expects Red One to play over the year-end holidays and establish a new movie series.

And exhibitors are undoubtedly excited to show the first decent Christmas film since before the epidemic, when The Grinch debuted in 2018, much alone one with such high-profile stars.

The family-friendly film follows what happens when Santa Claus — whose code name is "Red One" — is kidnapped and the North Pole's head of security (Johnson) must team up with the world's most infamous bounty hunter (Evans) in what Amazon MGM describes as a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.

Jake Kasdan directed Red One, which stars Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel, and J.K. Simmons. The script was written by Chris Morgan and the narrative was written by Hiram Garcia. It is rated PG-13 in the United States, where it has received negative reviews.

Red One is the first of a succession of year-end tentpoles set to release and, if all goes well, put the box office back on track following a rough fall due to a shortage of goods. Universal's Wicked and Paramount's Gladiator II will premiere on November 22, followed by Walt Disney Animation's Moana 2 on November 27. (Many have nicknamed the high-profile corridor "Moanapocalypse" or "Glicked.")