Amazon MGM Studio’s big tentpole of the year Red One staggered into action over the weekend with an estimated $34.1m number one North American debut.
While not a poor number in and of itself for an original film, the reported $250m price tag will raise eyebrows. Despite generally poor reviews, filmgoers gave it an A- Cinemascore, offering hope that if the family holiday season film plays into the holiday season, it might reach a decent number in North America to complement the $50m and counting international tally.
Dwayne Johnson stars as the head of security for Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons), who goes missing, sparking a rescue mission with the help of Chris Evans’s bounty hunter. Lucy Liu also stars in the film directed by Jake Kasdan.
Elsewhere the romance Hello, Love, Again arrived in eighth place on the best opening weekend for a Filipino film in North America on $2.4m through Abramorama, while Payal Kapadia’s Cannes hit All We Imagine As Light opened through Sideshow/Janus Films on $51m from three screens, placing 19th.
Columbia Pictures’ Spider-Man spin-off Venom: The Last Dance starring Tom Hardy ranked second on $7.4m to raise the running total to $127.6m after four weekends. The Kingdom Story Company’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever earned another $5.4m in its second session through Lionsgate for $19.9m.
A24’s Heretic starring Hugh Grant places fourth on $5.2m for a solid $20.4m after two weekends, and DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot rounds out the top five on $4.3m through Universal Pictures for $137.8m after eight sessions.
ABS-CBN Films and GMA Pictures’ Hello, Love, Again starring Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards, the sequel to the box office giant Hello, Love, Goodbye, opened in 248 locations – the widest ever release for a Filipino film.
Abramorama targeted not just the core Filipino-American audience but Asian-Americans, Hispanics, and general filmgoers. The film takes place five years after events in the 2019 original when Joy (Bernardo) bade farewell to Ethan (Richards). In the latest film, the pair reconnect and rekindle in Canada.
Turning to awards contenders, The Substance at number 17 has reached $16.2m through Mubi after nine weekends in play and is nearing $67m worldwide. SPC reported that Saoirse Ronan drama The Outrun in 20th place has amassed $940,486 after seven weeks.
Searchlight Pictures buddy movie A Real Pain from Jesse Eisenberg, who stars with Kieran Culkin, vaulted nine places to number nine in its third weekend after expanding from 12 to 1,185 theatres. It grossed $2.3m for a $3m running total.
Focus Features’ Vatican thriller Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rosselini added $2.9m for $26.6m in its fourth weekend and ranks seventh. In tenth place is Anora, Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner about a Brooklyn sex worker who falls for the son of a Russian oligarch. Mikey Madison stars and the film earned $1.8m for $10.5m after five sessions.
This week’s global box office champion Gladiator II from Ridley Scott opens through Paramount Pictures later this week, as do Universal’s Wicked from Jon Chu, and Bonhoeffer via Angel Studios.
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