Yahoo Lifestyle “Red One” Disappoints at Box Office After Negative Reviews — Earning $34 Million on $250 Million Budget
The action film starring Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson still won the box office in North America this weekend
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Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans in 'Red One.'Critics and theatergoers alike said “bah humbug” to Red One, the new Christmas-themed action movie starring Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson.
The film, which had a massive budget of $250 million, took in just $34.1 million since opening on Friday, Nov. 15, according to Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter.
With data collected from 4,032 North American theaters, Red One still topped the domestic box office, however, ending the three-week streak previously held by Venom: The Last Dance.
The film, which earned just a 33% score on Rotten Tomatoes, fared better with those who saw it, earning a 90% audience score. The project also earned $14.7 million overseas from 75 markets, during what marked its second weekend in theaters there, per THR.
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Dwayne Johnson, Lucy Liu and Chris Evans at the 'Red One' premiere in New York City on Nov. 11.Prior to opening, the movie — about the North Pole’s head of security (Johnson) who teams up with a bounty hunter (Evans) to rescue the kidnapped Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons), received harsh reviews.
USA Today’s Brian Truitt noted that Red One was more enjoyable than Hulk Hogan’s 1996 stinker Santa With Muscles, but added “you’ll find a better dose of the holiday spirit in Terrifier 3” — the gory horror movie about a murderous clown that’s made more than $80 million worldwide since its October release.
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Dwayne Johnson at the 'Red One' premiere in Berlin on Nov. 3.Red One, wrote Brandon Yu of The New York Times, is “a particularly egregious piece of commercial slop…blandly polished inanity without any clever sense of irony or properly wacky sensibility that would make something this dumb actually float.”
Not all critics were Scrooge-like in their assessment, however: “This search-and-rescue tale of a kidnapped Santa Claus doesn’t reinvent the action-movie wheel, but it’s a fun spin on holiday tropes,” according to The Film Verdict’s Alonso Duralde.
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Chris Evans at the New York premiere of Red One on Nov. 11.Related: Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans Rush to Save Christmas After Santa Gets Kidnapped in Red One Trailer
No matter what the public at large thought of the film, Johnson and Evans clearly had fun making it.
“So many times I laughed. I am notorious for ruining takes. I laugh; it's just what happens,” Johnson previously told PEOPLE of filming scenes with his costar. "Chris is a very funny guy. He's also very talented.”
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Red One is in theaters now.
