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After Santa Claus -- Code Name: RED ONE -- is kidnapped, the North Pole's Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with the world's most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas

Red One May Not Be A Huge Box Office Hit, But Don't Call It A Flop

Prime Video
BY RYAN SCOTTNOV. 18, 2024 4:00 PM EST

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is one of the biggest stars in the world. At one point, thanks to his work in movies like "Fast Five" and "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," he gained the unofficial designation of "franchise Viagra" for what his name meant to a film in a pre-existing franchise. In the pandemic era, Johnson's reputation has taken a hit with films like "Jungle Cruise" and "Black Adam" failing to live up to expectations. Now, his latest movie "Red One" has arrived. It's big, it's expensive, and it's largely being framed as a flop. But is that fair? Perhaps not.


Director Jake Kasdan's "Red One" opened to $34 million at the domestic box office over the weekend. The film had previously rolled out in many overseas markets and has thus far collected $50 million internationally, for an $84 million global running total. For an original movie that can hold strong throughout the holiday season, that's not bad when divorced from outside factors. Especially considering that the only other original movie to have a similarly big opening in 2024 was John Krasinski's "If" ($33.7 million). Yes, "Wicked" and "Gladiator II" figure to take a big bite out of the competition this upcoming weekend with a potential Barbenheimer-sized double bill. Even so, there are things working in this movie's favor. We'll get into more of that in a moment, but first, let's look at the bad news.


Amazon spent a ridiculous $250 million on the Christmas flick, and that doesn't include an additional $100 million the studio spent on marketing for the theatrical release. That's a $350 million investment, and $84 million isn't going to cut it. That said, this isn't your average $250 million blockbuster. Because this was originally meant to be a streaming movie, this is more like Apple releasing "Napoleon" and "Killers of the Flower Moon" in theaters. Profit in theaters was never in the cards

Red One might have long legs at the box office

"Red One" centers on a group of bad guys who kidnap Santa (J.K. Simmons). Callum Drift (Johnson), the commander of E.L.F. and head of security for Santa, is forced to team up with world famous tracker Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) to rescue Jolly Old Saint Nick so they can save Christmas. The film also stars Lucy Liu ("Charlie's Angels"), Kiernan Shipka ("Chilling Adventures of Sabrina"), Bonnie Hunt ("Jumanji"), Nick Kroll ("Big Mouth"), and Kristofer Hivju ("Game of Thrones").


Remarkably, the film's opening weekend set a record for a big streaming movie-turned-theatrical release. The previous record was held by Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," which opened to $23 million last year. That movie finished with $158 million worldwide. While we need to see how the coming weeks treat "Red One," it's assured to eclipse that mark. It also did a heck of a lot better than Apple's pricey "Argylle" did earlier this year. In a world where these huge-budget streaming movies are getting theatrical releases to help boost their profile, this might need to be looked at as a relative win, with some huge qualifiers attached.

Much was made of the film's budget and Johnson's alleged on-set behavior, with "Red One" framed as a disaster in the making months before its rollout. I can't outright defend spending $250 million on a movie like this, but keep in mind that $250 million for a streaming movie is not the same as $250 million for a traditional film. Everyone was paid up front in this case, as opposed to getting big box office bonuses if the film crosses certain thresholds. So we're talking about Amazon paying hefty salaries for all involved — salaries that would typically be covered, at least in part, by bonuses on the backend.


It's also important to note that general audiences really like this movie. It holds a terrible 33% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but a stellar 90% audience rating. It also has an A- CinemaScore, which suggests word of mouth will be strong. That could carry it through much of December before an eventual release on Prime Video, likely timed to the Christmas holiday.

In this weird new streaming era, Red One is a modest win

Looking at the numbers, it's easy to argue that this movie makes way more sense in theaters than it would on streaming. "Some money is better than no money" would be another (admittedly somewhat reductive) way to look at it. Not only that, but with no other big movies coming out this past weekend, "Red One" was absolutely necessary to keep theaters afloat for a week before "Gladiator II" and "Wicked" bring the big bucks heading into Thanksgiving.


Not that Amazon put this in theaters out of the kindness of their hearts, but it certainly helped the overall box office picture out in what has been a down year thanks to a rough first half of 2024. "Red One" was originally supposed to go direct-to-streaming where it would have made no money back, save for any new Prime Video sign-ups. At this rate, it should at least make $200 million worldwide, which would recoup the reported marketing budget. (If theaters take approximately half of the earnings and the studio takes the other half, Amazon's half would offset the amount the company spent on trailers, TV spots, billboards, etc.)

At the same time, the theatrical release has boosted the film's profile greatly for its eventual streaming release. As we've seen time and time again, movies released in theaters do way better on streaming. "Madame Web" was a straight-up flop theatrically, but it shot right to the top of the charts on Netflix. Similarly, Disney's "Encanto" was far from a hit in theaters largely thanks to pandemic circumstances, but then it became a monster hit on Disney+. That wouldn't have happened if it had been dumped straight to streaming.

Lifestyle·Crime
Father who faked his death to escape his wife and kids explains how he disappeared abroad without a trace
BYTodd Richmond and The Associated Press
November 21, 2024 at 12:45 PM PST

A Wisconsin man who faked his own drowning this summer so he could abandon his wife and three children has been communicating with authorities daily from Eastern Europe, even telling them how he did it, but has not committed to returning home, a sheriff said Thursday.

Ryan Borgwardt has been talking with authorities since Nov. 11 after disappearing for three months, Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said at a news conference. The sheriff showed a video that Borgwardt sent the sheriff’s office that day.

“The great news is we know that he is alive and well,” Podoll said. “The bad news is we don’t know where Ryan exactly is, and he has not yet decided to return home.”


Borgwardt, wearing an orange T-shirt and not smiling, looked directly into the camera in the video, which appears to have been taken on his phone. Borgwardt said he was in his apartment and briefly panned the camera but mostly showed just a door and bare walls.

“I’m safe and secure, no problem,” Borgwardt said. “I hope this works.”

Borgwardt told authorities he fled because of “personal matters,” the sheriff said. Podoll did not elaborate.

“He was just going to try and make things better in his mind, and this was the way it was going to be,” Podoll said.

Borgwardt told authorities he traveled about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from his home in Watertown to Green Lake, where he overturned his kayak, dumped his phone in the lake and then paddled an inflatable boat to shore. He told authorities he picked that lake because it’s the deepest in Wisconsin at 237 feet (over 72 meters).

After leaving the lake, he rode an electric bike about 70 miles (110 kilometers) through the night to Madison, the sheriff said. From there, he took a bus to Detroit, then boarded a bus to Canada and got on a plane there, the sheriff said.


Police were still verifying Borgwardt’s description of what happened, Podoll said.

The sheriff suggested Borgwardt could be charged with obstructing the investigation into his disappearance, but so far no counts have been filed. Whether Borgwardt returns will be up to his “free will,” Podoll said.

Borgwardt’s biggest concern about returning is how the community will react, Podoll said.

“He thought his plan was going to pan out, but it didn’t go the way he had planned,” the sheriff said. “And so now we’re trying to give him a different plan to come back.”

The sheriff said authorities “keep pulling at his heartstrings” to return home.

“Christmas is coming,” Podoll said. “And what better gift could your kids get than to be there for Christmas?”

Borgwardt’s disappearance was first investigated as a possible drowning after he went kayaking on Green Lake, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee. But subsequent clues — including that he obtained a new passport three months before he disappeared — led investigators to speculate that he faked his death to meet up with a woman he had been communicating with in Uzbekistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia.

The sheriff declined to comment when asked what he knew about the woman, but he said police contacted Borgwardt “through a female that spoke Russian.”

Prior to the sheriff’s office speaking with Borgwardt last week, he had not been heard from since the night of Aug. 11 when he texted his wife in Watertown shortly before 11 p.m., saying he was headed to shore after kayaking.


Deputies located his vehicle and trailer near the lake. They also found his overturned kayak with a life jacket attached to it in an area where the lake’s waters run more than 200 feet (60 meters) deep. The search for his body went on for more than 50 days, with divers on several occasions exploring the lake.

In early October, the sheriff’s department learned that Canadian law enforcement authorities had run Borgwardt’s name through their databases the day after he was reported missing. Further investigation revealed that he had reported his passport lost or stolen and had obtained a new one in May.

The sheriff’s office said the analysis of a laptop revealed a digital trail that showed Borgwardt planned to head to Europe and tried to mislead investigators.

The laptop’s hard drive had been replaced and the browsers had been cleared the day Borgwardt disappeared, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators found passport photos, inquiries about moving money to foreign banks, and communication with a woman from Uzbekistan.

They also discovered that he took out a $375,000 life insurance policy in January, although the policy was for his family and not him, the sheriff said.

Authorities tried every phone number and email address on the laptop in “a blitz fashion,” Podoll said. They eventually reached a Russian-speaking woman who connected them with Borgwardt. It’s unclear whether she is the woman in Uzbekistan.


Podoll said he wasn’t sure how he was supporting himself but speculated he has a job: “He’s a smart guy.”