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Red One (film)

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Red One
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJake Kasdan
Screenplay byChris Morgan
Story byHiram Garcia
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyDan Mindel
Edited by
Music byHenry Jackman
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • November 6, 2024 (2024-11-06) (Ireland and United Kingdom)
  • November 15, 2024 (2024-11-15) (United States)
Running time
123 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$200–250 million[2][3][4]
Box office$185.7 million[5][6]

Red One is a 2024 American Christmas action film directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Chris Morgan, from an original story by Hiram Garcia. It stars Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J. K. Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Nick Kroll, Kristofer Hivju, and Wesley Kimmel. In the film, Callum Drift (Johnson), the head of North Pole security, teams up with the hacker Jack O'Malley (Evans) to locate a kidnapped Santa Claus (Simmons) on Christmas Eve.

Produced by Amazon MGM Studios, Seven Bucks Productions, Chris Morgan Productions, and The Detective Agency,[7][8] Red One is seen as the first of a Christmas-themed action film franchise. Principal photography for the film began in October 2022 and concluded in February 2023, with filming locations including Atlanta.

Red One was first released theatrically by Warner Bros. Pictures internationally on November 6, 2024, and in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on November 15. The film has grossed $185.7 million worldwide on a budget of $200–$250 million and received generally negative reviews from critics.

Plot

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MORA (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) is a clandestine, multilateral military organization that protects a secret peace treaty between mythological creatures and humanity. Callum Drift, head of Santa Claus's security detail, plans to retire after one last Christmas run, having become disillusioned with people's increased toxic behavior, exemplified by the growth of Santa's Naughty List. On Christmas Eve, an unidentified black ops team breaks into the North Pole complex and kidnaps Santa. MORA director Zoe Harlow's subordinates discover the complex's location was compromised by Jack O'Malley, a freelance black-hat hacker.

Zoe apprehends Jack for questioning. A longtime Santa skeptic, Jack explains that he had no idea what the information meant and merely sent it to an anonymous buyer. Zoe hires Jack to help find Santa and places a tracker on him. Callum reluctantly teams up with Jack. They track down Ted, the broker who bought the information, in Aruba. Ted reveals the kidnapper is the winter witch Grýla. Grýla becomes aware of their conversation from her name being spoken and sends her snowmen henchmen to eliminate them. Although Callum and Jack are victorious, Ted is frozen before he can be further questioned.

Callum suspects that Grýla is working with Krampus, Santa's estranged adoptive brother, Grýla's ex-lover and the creator of the Naughty List. Callum and Jack break into Krampus' lair but are captured. Callum appeals to Krampus to help his brother who misses him, but Krampus refuses. He reveals that Grýla came to him to recover the Glaskäfig, a magical imprisoning snow globe. Jack steals back Callum's magic gauntlet and returns it to him, allowing the pair to escape.

Grýla and her sons keep Santa in a vault that siphons his magic, knocking him unconscious. Grýla duplicates the Glaskäfig, planning to imprison all people that has ever been on the Naughty List. She tests the snow globes on Jack and his estranged son Dylan. Jack and Dylan, inside their respective globes next, have a heartfelt conversation that, by making them "nicer", causes the snow globes to break.

Following the implanted tracker, Zoe and Callum find Jack at the North Pole complex and realize that Grýla and her sons, along with Santa, are still inside the complex the entire time, having caused the search as a diversion. They also learn that Grýla's team of shapeshifters has taken over the complex. They free the imprisoned Mrs. Claus and other security staff. In Santa's old workshop, they find Jack and Dylan and the equipment that Grýla used to mass-produce the Glaskäfigs.

Grýla prepares to leave with an unconscious Santa using his sleigh to distribute the Glaskäfigs. A fight ensues, and Grýla is stopped by Callum and Jack, with an assist from Krampus, who arrives to help. Santa recovers, defeats Grýla with the help of his reindeer, and seals her inside one of her Glaskäfigs. Santa and Krampus acknowledge each other and part ways peacefully while Grýla is taken into Zoe's custody.

Everybody prepares for the Christmas Eve run. Santa invites Jack and Dylan to accompany him. During the successful run, Callum watches Jack regain his wonder and build a relationship with Dylan. His faith restored, Callum decides against retiring.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Hiram Garcia at Seven Bucks Productions conceived the idea for the film,[9] which was developed into a screenplay by Chris Morgan for Jake Kasdan to direct.[10] Chris Evans joined the cast in January 2022.[11] In September 2022, Kiernan Shipka was added to the cast.[12] Lucy Liu, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, J. K. Simmons, Nick Kroll, Kristofer Hivju, Wesley Kimmel and Bonnie Hunt joined the cast the following month, with Ellis revealing her and Simmons' involvement on Instagram.[13][14][15][16] Dwayne Johnson was paid $50 million for his involvement.[17]

Filming

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Principal photography began in October 2022 in Atlanta and wrapped in February 2023.[14][18] Filming ran into issues with Johnson, who was an average of seven to eight hours late to film his scenes and missed several days of shooting. These delays reportedly increased the budget by $50 million to a total of $250 million, which Garcia disputed.[4] Johnson later admitted to frequent tardiness as well as urinating in bottles on set, but Evans and Kasdan defended him.[19][20]

Release

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Red One was originally scheduled to be released exclusively on Prime Video worldwide in time for Christmas 2023.[21] On December 20, 2023, the film switched to a worldwide theatrical release on November 15, 2024, due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[22][23][24] Johnson pushed for Red One to be released in IMAX after watching an IMAX screening of Oppenheimer while Red One's principal photography was still underway. Johnson thought that Red One in the IMAX format would be "game over".[25] Amazon MGM Studios handled the distribution in the United States, while Warner Bros. Pictures handled the film's international release.[26] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it was released on November 6, 2024.[27] In Latin America, it was released on November 7, 2024.[28] with pre-release advance screenings starting October 31, 2024.[29] Footage of Red One was first shown at CinemaCon in April 2024 to journalists selected by Johnson's publicist, but they were not allowed to write about what they saw.[4] Red One was released on Prime Video on December 12, 2024.[30]

Reception

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Box office

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As of January 9, 2025, Red One has grossed $97 million in the United States and Canada, and $88.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $185.7 million.[5][6]

In the United States and Canada, Red One was projected to gross $30–35 million from 4,032 theaters, with some independent sources predicting a debut as low as $25 million or as high as $40 million.[3][31] The film made $10.9 million on its first day, including $3.7 million from Sunday and Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $32.1 million, topping the box office.[2] Following the film's weak previews performance, Variety concluded that, "With a massive budget of $250 million, plus marketing costs, it'll take a Christmas miracle for Red One to become a profitable hit at the box office."[32][33] In its second box office weekend, the film dropped 59% to $13.3 million, finishing in third behind newcomers Wicked and Gladiator II.[34] In its third weekend the film made $12.9 million (and a total of $18.7 million over the five day Thanksgiving frame), dropping just 2.5% from the previous weekend and finishing in fourth behind Gladiator II, Wicked and Moana 2.[35]

Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 30% of 179 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Wrapped in slick packaging but wholly lacking in holiday magic, Red One is a ho-ho-hum action-adventure."[36] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 34 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.[37] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 78% overall positive score, with 57% saying they would definitely recommend it.[2]

Peter Bradshaw, writing for The Guardian, gave the film one star out of five, describing it as "profoundly depressing and blandly sentimental" and concluding "this commercial and formulaic slice of content is a toy destined to be forgotten, not by Boxing Day, but mid-November."[38]

Glenn Garner of Deadline Hollywood said the film "blends genres for some family-friendly holiday fun with a generous dose of self-aware absurdity" and wrote: "Yes, it's cheesy, but this movie is best when it leans heavily into the cheese. If that makes your eyes roll, keep in mind this is a Christmas movie ultimately intended for kids who've made it all the way through the MCU on Disney+ twice and their parents now need a reprieve. There are still some jokes aimed at the cold-hearted adult who will inevitably be dragged along on the family cinema outing."[39]

References

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  1. ^ "Red One (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 17, 2024). "Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans' $200M+ Christmas Action Movie 'Red One' Opening To $34M: Is It A Bomb Or A Streamer's Rounding Error? — Saturday AM Box Office". Deadline. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Rubin, Rebecca (November 12, 2024). "Dwayne Johnson's 'Red One' Targets $30 Million Box Office Bounty". Variety. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Gonzalez, Umberto (April 30, 2024). "Red One Down: How Dwayne Johnson's Tardiness Led to a $250 Million Runaway Production". TheWrap. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Red One – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Red One (2024)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  7. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 28, 2021). "Dwayne Johnson & Dany Garcia's Seven Bucks Developing 'Red One' With Amazon Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  8. ^ Jackson, Angelique (January 24, 2022). "Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson Team for Amazon Holiday Movie 'Red One'". Variety. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  9. ^ Lang, Brent (June 28, 2021). "Dwayne Johnson Starring in Holiday Action-Adventure 'Red One' For Amazon Studios". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  10. ^ Kit, Borys (October 29, 2021). "'Jumanji' Director Jake Kasdan Reuniting With Dwayne Johnson for Holiday Adventure Movie at Amazon". The Hollywood Reporter. PMRC. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  11. ^ Grobar, Matt (January 24, 2022). "'Red One': Chris Evans To Star Opposite Dwayne Johnson In Amazon's Holiday Action-Comedy From Director Jake Kasdan". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  12. ^ Grobar, Matt (September 6, 2022). "Kiernan Shipka To Star Opposite Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans In Jake Kasdan's Holiday Event Film Red One For Prime Video". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 12, 2022). "Lucy Liu To Star Opposite Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans In Prime Video's Holiday Pic Red One". Deadline. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Ellis, Mary Elizabeth (October 15, 2022). "Mary Elizabeth Ellis on Twitter: Verified I had a blast shooting #RedOne in Atlanta this week with @chrisevans #wesleykimmel and the awesome crew! Paparazzi photo isn't the most flattering, but cool to see the fake snow! This giant Christmas movie with the likes of @therock @lucyliu #jksimmons is gonna be hella fun!! #jakekasdan @amazonstudios". Instagram. Archived from the original on October 25, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  15. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 24, 2022). "Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans Prime Video Holiday Pic Red One Adds Nick Kroll, Kristofer Hivju, Wesley Kimmel & Mary Elizabeth Ellis". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  16. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 7, 2022). "Dwayne Johnson-Led Holiday Film Starts Production; Adds J.K. Simmons & Bonnie Hunt To Cast". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  17. ^ Donnelly, Matt (August 18, 2021). "From Daniel Craig to Dwayne Johnson, Inside the Biggest Movie Stars' Salaries". Variety. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  18. ^ Leishman, Rachel (October 19, 2022). "Chris Evans Shares a Behind-The-Scenes Look at 'Red One'". Collider. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  19. ^ Baron, Zach (November 11, 2024). "Dwayne Johnson Became the World's Biggest Movie Star. Now He's Trying to Disappear". GQ. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  20. ^ Evans, Greg (November 11, 2024). "Dwayne Johnson Calls 'Red One' Set Controversy "Ridiculous" – But, Yes, He Sometimes Pees In Bottles". Deadline. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  21. ^ Renner, Brian D. "Everything You Need to Know About Red One Movie (2024): Dec. 21, 2023 - changed the US film release date from TBA 2023 to November 15, 2024". Movie Insider. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  22. ^ Gibbons, Laurence (December 2, 2023). "Red One: Can Santa Deliver The Rock's Christmas Movie?". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  23. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 20, 2023). "Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans Seven Bucks Amazon MGM Movie 'Red One' To Jingle In Theaters Next Year". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  24. ^ McClintock, Pamela (April 10, 2024). "Amazon MGM Teases Dwayne Johnson-Chris Evans Holiday Pic 'Red One,' Expands Theatrical Slate". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
  25. ^ Tinoco, Armando (November 14, 2024). "Dwayne Johnson Says 'Red One' Needs Imax Screens Like Christopher Nolan's 'Oppenheimer': "With This Technology Could Be Game Over"". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  26. ^ Peralta, Diego (December 20, 2023). "'Red One' Gets Theatrical Release Next Christmas". Collider. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  27. ^ "Red One" (Press release). Warner Bros. Pictures.
  28. ^ "Código: Traje Rojo - Películas". Warner Bros. Latino. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  29. ^ @moviecrazyplanet (October 26, 2024). "¡Código Traje Rojo tendrá Pre-Estreno! Desde el 31 de octubre podrás ver a Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Lu y J. K. Simmons en #RedOne. @warnerbrosmx presenta #CódigoTrajeRojo, solo en cines. 💻 moviecrazyplanet.com/?p=8790" (in Spanish). Retrieved October 28, 2024 – via Instagram.
  30. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 9, 2024). "Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans' 'Red One' Hitting Prime Video This Week". Deadline. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  31. ^ McClintock, Pamella (November 12, 2024). "Box Office Preview: Dwayne Johnson-Chris Evans' 'Red One' Kicks Off Year-End Tentpole Parade". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  32. ^ Moreau, Jordan (November 15, 2024). "Box Office: 'Red One' Makes $3.7 Million in Previews". Variety. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  33. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (November 17, 2024). "Box Office: Dwayne Johnson's $250 Million-Budgeted 'Red One' Debuts to Chilly $34 Million". Variety. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  34. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 24, 2024). "'Wicked' & 'Gladiator II' AKA 'Glicked' Fuel $205M Combined Weekend, Best Pre-Thanksgiving Frame In 11 Years — Sunday AM Box Office Update". Deadline. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  35. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 1, 2024). "Chee Hoo Mania At The Box Office: 'Moana 2' $221M 5-Day Opening Is Best 5-Day & Thanksgiving Ever; 'Wicked' Wows $117M+ & 'Gladiator II' $44M – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  36. ^ "Red One". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 18, 2025. Edit this at Wikidata
  37. ^ "Red One". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  38. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (November 6, 2024). "Red One review – bronto-head Dwayne Johnson weighs down Santa kidnap comedy". The Guardian. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  39. ^ Garner, Glenn (November 5, 2024). "'Red One' Review: Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans' Slightly Absurd Christmas Action Comedy Commits To The Bit". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
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