Amazon/MGM’s worst fears are painfully coming to fruition.
Puck’s Matt Belloni is reporting that “Red One,” which stars Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans, and has a $253M budget, is currently tracking to open in the $36M range. Honestly speaking, that feels high. I’m thinking it will open in the low 20s.
Amazon had originally dated “Red One” to release on December 20, 2024. However, it then got delayed by 11 months and is now set for release next month.
Last December, Deadline reported that “Red One,” dated for November 15, 2024, had tested twice and that the scores were “through the roof.” I automatically stamped a red flag on this report given that it was the opposite of what I’d been hearing and that, more than likely, Amazon leaked the “high test scores” story to the trades to get ahead of another story that was about to hit the film.
Well, lo and behold, after TheInSneider reported that test screenings had actually gone terribly for the film, a story soon arrived, in late April, via The Wrap, that the budget on “Red One” had ballooned to catastrophic levels. Apparently, Dwayne Johnson was partly to blame as the actor was frequently late to the set (“7-8 hours on average”) and would sometimes just not show up — his behavior cost production over $50M.
“Dwayne truly doesn’t give a f–k,” one insider bluntly told The Wrap.
It we go by Sneider’s piece, recounting the hideous test scores, “Red One” is being described as “an unmitigated disaster,” and being described as “ChatGPT’s idea of what a commercial, four-quadrant film should be.”
“Red One” is directed by Jake Kasdan, he helmed Johnson’s two ‘Jumanji’ movies, as well as “Bad Teacher,” “Sex Tape,” and “Walk Hard.”