Red didn’t perform well at the box office, proving that Dwayne Johnson needs his next return to a $2 billion franchise. Perhaps the main attraction of the 2024 Christmas action movie was Redcast of characters. From former MCU star Chris Evans and icon Lucy Liu to the always fantastic JK Simmons and protagonist Dwayne Johnson, the monster and mythology infused Red it was expected to become a new Christmas classic, despite its unconventional presentation as an action thriller.
However, at the time of RedUltimately, this proved not to be the case. Red received negative reviews from many critics, although audiences seem to be responding well to the film. Regardless, there simply aren’t enough people who will give the film a chance to be loved if RedBox office numbers are any indication. General, Red is being labeled a failure, proving that Johnson needs the return to his $2 billion franchise that he has been hoping for since 2019.
Dwayne Johnson hasn’t had a real box office hit in several years
Red only makes this fact worse
Until now, Red grossed a worldwide total of just $117 million, solidifying the fact that Dwayne Johnson hasn’t had a surefire box office hit in a long time. Dwayne Johnson has had many high-profile films, but it’s safe to say that not all of them have performed well commercially, especially in recent years. Although Red will likely perform well on streaming and could gain traction in theaters as Christmas 2024 approaches, its $117 million total to date is certainly anything but a success, especially when compared to its massive $250 budget million.
Amazon MGM Studios produced Redmeaning that low box office won’t be as big of a problem for the studio as it would be for others, as a lot of stock is put into Amazon’s Prime Video service to revitalize poor box office performance.
What it does RedThe company’s poor business performance is even more surprising to Johnson himself. For years, Johnson was known as an actor who single-handedly brought audiences to theaters. Johnson had a reputation as someone who could also revive franchises, doing so for Fast and Furious and Jumanji in the 2010s.
Dwayne Johnson films in the 2020s |
Release date |
Budget |
Domestic Box Office |
Worldwide box office |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jungle Cruise |
July 30, 2021 |
$200,000,000 |
US$116,987,516 |
US$210,469,803 |
DC League of Super Pets |
July 29, 2022 |
$90,000,000 |
US$93,657,117 |
US$203,891,589 |
Black Adam |
October 21, 2022 |
$260,000,000 |
US$168,283,344 |
US$390,455,088 |
Red |
November 15, 2024 |
$250,000,000 |
US$52,909,550 |
US$117,109,550 |
That said, his recent films certainly haven’t lived up to that reputation. Johnson’s big-budget Hollywood films over the past four years include Jungle Cruise, DC League of Super Pets, Black Adam, and now Red, discounting appearances in Fast and Free Guy. All of these films were considered commercial disappointments to varying degreeswith Black AdamThe worldwide gross of US$390 is the highest box office total. For someone considered one of the actors with the most star power, this run is not favorable, especially after Redthe failure.
Jumanji 4 Will Almost Certainly Give Dwayne Johnson the Lead Role in a Blockbuster
The franchise return Johnson needs is Jumanji. 2017 Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was one of the films that saw Johnson become known as the savior of the franchise, with the film grossing a massive $952 million worldwide. Its sequence, Jumanji: The Next Level, It wasn’t as successful, but it still grossed $801 million worldwide. With Sony recently scheduling Jumanji 4 for December 2026, the franchise could finally give Johnson the lead role in a blockbuster for the first time since 2019.
It’s important to note that Johnson has two upcoming films that are expected to do well at the box office. The first of them is 2024 Moana 2while the second is the live-action remake of Moana scheduled for 2026. That said, Johnson will not star in either of these films. As such, Jumanji 4 It will likely be the film that, if it performs as well as its predecessors, will re-establish Dwayne Johnson as a blockbuster leading man after a string of flops that culminated in 2024. Red.