The Christmas action movieRed Onehasn’t been well-received by critics, but it has had an impressive box office run, proving it’s not a total disaster. Christmas arrived early on the big screen in 2024, and one of the biggest releases wasRed One. Directed by Jake Kasdan,Red Onebrings together comedy, action, drama, and the Christmas spirit as it follows Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson), the head commander of the North Pole’s Enforcement Logistics & Fortification (ELF). As such, Callum is in charge of Santa Claus’ (J.K. Simmons) safety… until one day Santa Claus is kidnapped.
The Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority (MORA) discovers that hacker Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) was used to break into the North Pole’s security, so Callum is forced to team up with him. Together they find out that the one behind Santa Claus’s kidnapping isthe winter witch Gryla(Kiernan Shipka), and she’s a lot closer than they anticipated. At the time of writing,Red Onehas a 30% critics score onRotten Tomatoesagainst a 90% audience score, and the latter, along with its box office performance, prove it wasn’t a complete disaster, after all.
Red One Is Now One Of The Most Successful Christmas Movies
Custom Image by Milica Djordjevic
DespiteRed One’s box office futurenot looking very bright at the beginning, mostly due to its negative critical reception, it has performed very well with the audience.Red One’s production reportedly went through various issueswith Dwayne Johnson, who is said to have arrived to the set seven to eight hours late every day, and there were days when he didn’t show up at all. This reportedly led toan increase of $50 million inRed One’s budget, elevating it to $250 million.
Even with the budget increase and negative reviews,Red Onehas now reached a spot among the Top 20 highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time.
A higher budget brings a bigger challenge forRed One’s box office performance, but even with the budget increase and negative reviews,Red Onehas now reached a spot among the Top 20 highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time.At the time of writing,Red Onehas grossed $149.7 million worldwide, passingArthur Christmason the list, which grossed $147.4 million. In addition to that,Red Onenow sits in the 25th spot among the highest-grossing movies of 2024, right above the horror movieLonglegs.
The highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time isThe Grinch, with $538.9 million.
Red One’s Box Office Milestone Is A Win For Dwayne Johnson’s Christmas Movie
As mentioned above,Red One’s increased budget also increased the amount of money it has to make at the box office to break even. With a budget of $250 million,Red Onehas to make at least $500 million to break even and be considered a hit, and it’s still not there yet.Red Oneisn’t even close to matching its budget yet, but its recent box office achievements are still impressive and worth celebrating, more so after seeing how badly it was received by critics.
Red Onestill can’t be considered a profitable box office venture, but it’s doing surprisingly well against other Christmas movies, and many of them were better received by critics.Red Onehas now surpassed popular Christmas movies likeDie Hard(which might end the debate of whether it’s a Christmas movie or not),The Holdovers,The Nightmare Before Christmas, andMiracle on 34th Street.
Making it to this very specific Top 20 list is a big achievement and can be counted as a success for the movie.
Even ifRed Onedoesn’t reach the $500 million mark, which seems more and more unlikely with each passing week, making it to this very specific Top 20 list is a big achievement and can be counted as a success for the movie – and, interestingly, it also adds to the wild difference between its critical reception and its audience one.
How High Will Red One Climb On The Highest-Grossing Christmas Movies List?
Red One Has The Potential To Go Higher
At the time of writing,Red Oneis just a couple of days away from being in theaters for an entire month, but seeing its success with the audience, it might stay for a bit longer. Thanks to this,Red Onecould go a bit higher on the list of highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time, more so as it’s not that far from beating the movie sitting at #19:Gremlins. Joe Dante’s comedy horror classic is listed as having grossed $153.8 million, so it’s possible forRed Oneto take its place before it leaves theaters.
IfRed Onegets a late popularity boost, it could end up climbing to the Top 15 highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time. Currently at the #15 spot isDaddy’s Home 2, a buddy comedy directed by Sean Anders.Daddy’s Home 2grossed a total of $180.6 million, soRed Oneis not far from it at the moment, but not that close either. Even if it doesn’t make it to the Top 15,Red Onealready has a spot among the highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time, and that’s enough to consider it a success despite not breaking even and its negative reviews.
Red One
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.
