Red Onehas not performed well at the box office, proving that Dwayne Johnson needs his upcoming return to a $2 billion franchise. Perhaps the main draw of the 2024 Christmas-action film wasRed One’s cast of characters. From former MCU star Chris Evans and icon Lucy Liu to the ever-fantastic J.K. Simmons and leading man Dwayne Johnson, themonster and mythology-infusedRed Onewas expected to become a new Christmas classic despite its unconventional presentation as an action-thriller.
However, by the time ofRed One’s ending, this proved not to be the case.Red Onehas received negative reviews from many critics even though audiences seem to be responding well to the movie. Regardless, there are simply not enough people giving the film a chance to be loved ifRed One’s box office numbersare anything to go by. Overall,Red Oneis being classed as a failure, proving that Johnson needs the return to his $2 billion franchise that he has been waiting for since 2019.
Red One Only Makes This Fact Worse
Thus far,Red Onehas earned a worldwide total of only $117 million, solidifying the fact that Dwayne Johnson has not had a surefire box office hit in a long time.Dwayne Johnson has had many high-ranked movies, but it is safe to say not all of them have performed well commercially, especially in recent years. AlthoughRed Onewill likely perform well on streaming and could pick up steam in theaters as Christmas 2024 draws closer, its $117 million total so far is certainly anything but a success, especially when placed in comparison to its massive $250 million budget.
Amazon MGM Studios producedRed One, meaning the low box office will not be as big a deal to the studio as it would to others as a lot of stock is placed on Amazon’s Prime Video service to revitalize poor box office performances.
What makesRed One’s poor commercial performance all the more surprising is Johnson himself. For years, Johnson was known as an actor who could single-handedly drive audiences to theaters. Johnson held the reputation of being someone who could also revive franchises, doing so forFast & FuriousandJumanjiin the 2010s.
$200,000,000
$116,987,516
$210,469,803
$90,000,000
$93,657,117
$203,891,589
$260,000,000
$168,283,344
$390,455,088
$250,000,000
$52,909,550
$117,109,550
That said, his recent movies have certainly not lived up to this reputation. Johnson’s big-budget Hollywood movies of the last four years includeJungle Cruise, DC League of Super Pets, Black Adam,and nowRed One,discounting cameo appearances inFast XandFree Guy.All of these movies have been considered commercial disappointments to varying degrees, withBlack Adam’s $390 worldwide haul being the highest box office total. For someone counted among the actors with the most star power, this run is not favorable, especially afterRed One’s failure.
The returning franchise that Johnson needs isJumanji. 2017’sJumanji: Welcome to the Junglewas one of the films that saw Johnson become known as a franchise savior, with the movie earning a huge $952 million worldwide gross. Its sequel,Jumanji: The Next Level,was not quite as successful, yet still earned $801 million worldwide. With Sony recently schedulingJumanji 4for December 2026, the franchise could finally give Johnson the leading role in a box office hit for the first time since 2019.
1995’sJumanjiearned $262 million at the box office, making the franchise worth over $2 billion at the box office.
It is worth noting that Johnson does have two upcoming movies that are expected to perform well at the box office. The first of these is 2024’sMoana 2, while the second is the live-action remake ofMoanascheduled for 2026. That said, Johnson will not be the lead in either of these movies. As such,Jumanji 4will likely be the movie that, if it performs as well as its predecessors, will re-establish Dwayne Johnson as a leading man in a box office smash after a string of failures that culminated in 2024’sRed One.
Red One
Cast
After Santa Claus is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with a notorious bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a thrilling, globe-spanning mission to save Christmas. This action-packed holiday adventure mixes comedy and festive magic, with an ensemble cast that includes Lucy Liu and J.K. Simmons.
