Dredd kicks ass in the home video market; is a sequel still possible?

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

For all of us who wondered WTF?! when DREDD flopped badly during its theatrical run – not just here in North America, but across the globe – take heed: the kickass lawman is not down for the count. Having debuted on Blu-ray and DVD last week, DREDD shot up the sales chart and tied for #1 with Tim Burton’s FRANKENWEENIE. It was also the top film download for the week, outpacing all other titles in digital sales.

This is indeed good news for the Judge, who might as well have not gotten out of bed for his latest journey to the big screen. It was a dire opening for DREDD, as the Lionsgate release only raked in $6 million, on its way to a truly woeful $13 million domestic run. It only made $32 million worldwide, and considering it cost upward of $50 million to produce, that was a very poor showing indeed.

But with 650,000 units sold on the home video market, DREDD is the best-selling new release title of the year. Obviously, Lionsgate was eager to tout the victory:

“DREDD’s chart topping performance demonstrates the breadth of the home entertainment audience for this exciting, high caliber film as well as underscoring our ability to monetize theatrical titles across all home entertainment platforms through the highest packaged, VOD and digital conversion rates in the industry,” said Ron Schwartz, Lionsgate Executive Vice President & General Manager, Home Entertainment. “We’re also pleased that a film released on 3-D Blu-ray was able to top the sales charts, a clear reflection of how quality films in this up and coming format can find their audience.”

So does this change the fortunes of a DREDD sequel, the possibility of which seemed a ridiculous notion up until this past week? Unfortunately, Lionsgate hasn’t mentioned anything of the sort just yet; it remains to be seen how long the Pete Travis film can hang around the sales chart. And while DREDD 2 may still be a long shot, it’s heartening to see the audience for violent R-rated action films hasn’t disappeared – they’re evidently sitting at home.

I guess THE LAST STAND has something to look forward to.

DREDD sidekick Olivia Thirlby