Red One may not have broken any box office records despite its hefty budget, but this isn’t a huge worry for Amazon, given the role of Prime Video in its strategy.
According to Variety, Red One managed to earn $34 million domestically during its opening weekend, which is pretty underwhelming considering its whopping $250 million budget. The film has raked in around $84 million globally, which still falls short. David A. Gross from Franchise Entertainment Research commented, “A $250 million production budget for a Santa Claus story is excessive. While the opening isn’t terrible, it’s insufficient when you consider the $250 million spent before even looking at marketing and distribution costs. Ideally, such a film shouldn’t have cost more than $150 million.”
Amazon, on its part, is in a wait-and-see mode. Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM’s head of theatrical distribution, stated, “Let’s see how this pans out as the holiday season unfolds. We’ve got some serious competition coming our way, which is no secret,” alluding to big upcoming releases like Wicked, Gladiator 2, and Moana 2. “Our film offers something different,” he points out. That unique factor? Prime Video. Amazon seems to believe that even if Red One underperforms at the box office, it could still spark conversation ahead of its Prime Video debut.
Wilson also notes, “Whether or not people end up liking the movie, its value is different for our business model. If we can release these in theaters and cover our P&A [print and advertising] expenses, why not? We’re getting a huge marketing push that’s funded before the film even hits streaming.”
Currently, we’re left without concrete streaming data for films, so unless, as Variety suggests, Red One gets a sequel, it’s difficult to say whether investing so heavily in a film that bombs at the box office is justifiable.
As of now, there’s no streaming release date for Red One. So, if you’re among those not too eager to watch it in theaters, you’ll have to hang tight.
