The record-breaking Filipino film Hello, Love, Again has secured a spot in the Top 10 at the North American box office, earning an estimated $2.32 million. The sequel to the 2019 hit Hello, Love, Goodbye landed in 8th place.
The romantic drama, which is a collaboration between ABS-CBN and GMA Network, stars Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richards, who reprise their roles as Joy and Ethan. Directed by Cathy Garcia-Sampana, Hello, Love, Again has already shattered local box office records since its premiere on Nov. 12.
Meanwhile, Amazon and MGM’s new winter holiday film Red One debuted at the top of the North American box office this weekend with an estimated $34.1 million in ticket sales. However, with an eye-popping production budget of around $250 million, the film faces a difficult road to profitability.
“This is a soft opening for a movie designed to launch a new Christmas action-comedy franchise,” said David A. Gross, an analyst at Franchise Entertainment Research. While he described Red One as a crowd-pleaser, the hefty budget—reportedly including a $50 million cost overrun—means the film’s opening, while not a disaster, is “not enough” to guarantee profitability.
Starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the head of North Pole security, the film follows his character teaming up with hacker Chris Evans to track down a kidnapped Santa Claus, played by J.K. Simmons, on Christmas Eve.
Red One unseated Sony’s Venom: The Last Dance, which slipped to second place with an estimated $7.4 million in its fourth weekend. The superhero film, starring Tom Hardy, has earned a total of $127.6 million domestically and $308 million internationally.
In third place was Lionsgate’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, a comedy-drama about a rowdy group of siblings who give an unexpected performance in their small town’s Christmas show, earning $5.4 million.
A24’s Heretic, starring Hugh Grant as a villain, dropped to fourth place with $5.2 million, while Universal’s animated family film The Wild Robot earned $4.3 million in its eighth weekend out, slipping to fifth.
Rounding out the top 10 at the North American box office were Smile 2, which earned $3 million, followed by Conclave with $2.9 million. A Real Pain brought in $2.3 million. Anora completed the list with $1.8 million in ticket sales. AFP
