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It’s a bittersweet time for Dwayne Johnson. Among the highest-paid movie stars in the world, Johnson has been struggling with box office form in recent years. But at the same time, he recently earned the rare distinction of having featured in two different films to have topped the domestic box office in the same month. Earlier in November, he starred in the Christmas-themed action-adventure film Red One, and this week, he was featured among the voice cast for Moana 2. Both movies debuted at the number one spot on the domestic charts.
While Red One grossed $10 million on day one — it has since made $57 million domestically — Moana 2 made $57 million on its first day alone. The hotly-anticipated animated sequel is eying at least $175 million across the extended five-day Thanksgiving frame, with some projecting the figure to hit the $200 million mark. Either way, moviegoers will spend around $200 million this holiday weekend on Johnson’s films, with Red One currently eyeing around $18 million across the five-day period. This should take the film’s total past the $65 million mark.
There is a giant asterisk attached to these achievements, however. By most standards, Red One has under-performed commercially. The movie was put together as a hot package with Chris Evans co-starring and director Jake Kasdan at the helm. Originally conceptualized as a streaming title, Red One was given a theatrical release by Amazon MGM after positive test scores. The catch is that the movie cost a reported $200 million-plus to produce, and despite its excellent audience reception, has earned terrible reviews. It appears to have settled at a “rotten” 31% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
Johnson Is Planning a Career Pivot
Similarly, even though Moana 2 is breaking box office records, it’s doing so on the strength of the Moana brand. In other words, it isn’t the sort of solo vehicle that Johnson can take full credit for. He will, however, reprise his role as the Demi-god Maui in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the first Moana. He will also make an effort to scale down, after a string of big-budget under-performers. He is set to star in Benny Safdie’s solo directorial debut, The Smashing Machine, for the indie outfit A24. You can watch both Red One and Moana 2 in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Moana sets out on another daring voyage, venturing into uncharted territories to save her island from a looming ancient danger. Joined by the demigod Maui and her steadfast friends, she braves perilous seas and encounters new allies along the way. Her quest leads to revelations about her ancestors and deeper insights into her bond with the ocean.
- Director
- David G. Derrick Jr. , Jason Hand , Dana Ledoux Miller
- Cast
- Auli’i Cravalho , Dwayne Johnson , Alan Tudyk , Rachel House , Temuera Morrison , Nicole Scherzinger , Hualālai Chung , David Fane , Rose Matafeo , Awhimai Fraser , Gerald Ramsey , Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda
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