Dwayne Johnson’s Christmas action movieRed Oneis now available to stream on Prime Video less than a month after its theatrical release, but it’s not due to its box office numbers. Christmas movies arrived early in 2024, and among them is the action comedyRed One. Directed by Jake Kasdan,Red Onetakes the audience to the North Pole to meet Callum Drift (Johnson), commander of ELF (Enforcement Logistics and Fortification) and thus head of North Pole security. On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped, and it’s up to Callum to rescue him.
The director of the Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority, Zoe Harlow (Lucy Liu), tracks down hacker Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans), the last in the chain that will lead them to Santa Claus. Callum is forced to team up with Jack, and together, they find out that the one behind Santa’s kidnapping is thewinter witch Gryla(Kiernan Shipka).Red Onegot negative reviewsand has a 30% critics score onRotten Tomatoesversus a 90% audience score, and now, after less than a month in theaters, it’s available to stream – but it has nothing to do with its box office performance.
Red One Is Hitting Streaming Way Earlier Than Amazon’s History Suggested
Red One’s Streaming Release Date Is Too Odd
As mentioned above,Red Oneis now available to stream on Prime Video, but it’s an even weirder decision when looking at Amazon’s history with theatrical movies moving to streaming. Although there’s no exact number of days that studios need to wait before a movie is released on a streaming platform,the approximate wait is 40 to 120 days, often more than and sometimes less, though that’s rare. Some examples of big productions that have been released on Prime Video areThe Beekeeper(after 173 days),Challengers(158 days), andCreed 3(99 days).
Even smaller productions, as is the case of the comedy-dramaMy Old Ass, fell into that window, waiting 55 days before hitting Prime Video.Red One, however, only waited 24 days after its theatrical releaseto be available to stream, making it an oddity in Prime Video’s history. Surely, this will allow it to reach a wider audience who might have not heard of it or weren’t interested in it enough to see it on the big screen, but this decision to release it on streaming so early doesn’t seem to be related to its box office performance.
Red One Is Still Performing Well At The Box Office Based On Realistic Expectations
All In All, Red One Did Well At The Box Office
Red Oneisn’t a box office hit and it failed to break even, but it still performed well.Red Onewas made on a budget of $250 million, this being the final number after it was reportedly increased due toproduction issues with Johnson, who is said to have been late to set every day and sometimes wouldn’t even show up at all. Of course, increasing the budget also increased the amount of moneyRed Onehad to make to break even, leaving it at, at least, $500 million.Red Onegrossed $165.9 million, and though it didn’t match its budget, it’s not exactly a failure.
Even with its negative critical reception, general audiences were a lot more welcoming ofRed One, and its box office numbers prove it.
Red Oneperformed well enough to rank among the highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time, now ranking at #18, whereFour Christmasesused to be with $163.7 million. Even with its negative critical reception, general audiences were a lot more welcoming ofRed One, and its box office numbers prove it.Red Onealso did well when looking at Johnson’s movies outside big franchises likeFast & Furious, the DC Universe,Jumanji, and Disney’sMoana.
Red One’s Box Office Breaking Into Impressive Top 20 List Proves Its Not A Complete Disaster For Dwayne Johnson
Red One hasn’t been the critics' favorite but has succeeded with general audiences, and its arrival into a specific Top 20 makes it a success.
According toThe Numbers,Red Oneranks aboveTooth Fairy,The Game Plan, andThe Scorpion Kingin Johnson’s filmography, and right belowThe Other GuysandBaywatch. Johnson has obviously found more success in big franchises and the movies that aren’t part of them haven’t reached high numbers, butRed Onenow ranks in a fairly good spot in his filmography. Even with its big-name cast,Red Onewasn’t really projected to be a huge box office hit, but it still did well all things considered.
Red One’s Streaming Release Is Very Clearly Tied To Christmas
Red One Is Releasing Right On Time For The Holidays
Red Oneisn’t a box office failure when considering factors like Johnson’s track record outside franchises, the history of Christmas movies at the box office, and its box office milestones, so its early streaming release isn’t related to it – but it’s definitely related to Christmas. As mentioned above, Christmas movies were released early in theaters this year, even before the Christmas spirit finally kicked in.Red Onenow being available to stream is all about the Christmas season, andit had to be ready for a wider audience in time for Christmas.
Red One might finally find its audience on Prime Video.
Red One’s quick streaming release could end up being greatly beneficial to it, not just because it will be available to stream during the actual holidays, but because it might finally find its audience on Prime Video. Recently, many movies that didn’t perform well in theaters (either critically or commercially) have found success on streaming, andRed Onecould join that list.Red Onetruly wasn’t a box office failure, and its early streaming release was more of a Christmas decision than one based on performance.
Source:The Numbers.
Red One
After Santa Claus is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne Johnson) must team up with a notorious bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a thrilling, globe-spanning mission to save Christmas. This action-packed holiday adventure mixes comedy and festive magic, with an ensemble cast that includes Lucy Liu and J.K. Simmons.
