By Though the Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans-led holiday action comedy “Red One” bombed at the box-office, its turned out to be a massive hit at its originally intended home – streaming.
The title has reportedly had the biggest opening for an Amazon MGM Studios film to date on Prime Video. Over 50 million worldwide viewers reportedly watched the holiday movie over its first four days of release on the service.
That beats the previous record held by this year’s “Road House” reboot which scored 50 million over a longer time span of its first two weeks of release.
“Red One” played on over 3,000 screens in North America and 3,300 screens internationally, with a box office haul of over $175 million – split around 55%/45% domestic/international.
Due to its costly $200–250 million production budget, that number was seen as a bomb – helped along by scathing critical reviews. The title was originally planned as a direct-to-Prime Video launch in late 2023 before being delayed to accomodate a theatrical release.
Thus the cinema run was only part of the strategy with the streaming launch considered just as important. Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, says in a statement:
“With Red One, there was no doubt that strategy needed to include a theatrical release and associated marketing campaign, which drove audiences to theaters and generated awareness for the film with viewers who would ultimately tune in on Prime Video. It’s rewarding to see our plan pay off for customers, and we are incredibly thankful to the entire filmmaking team and cast who helped make it happen.”
“Red One” stars Johnson as the North Pole’s head of security who must team up with a hacker off of the ‘naughty list’ (Evans) after Santa Claus gets kidnapped and Christmas is in need of saving.
Source: THR
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