Red One's Streaming Release Is Too Early - Dwayne Johnson's Movie Is Doing Better Than You Think At The Box Office

Dwayne Johnson’s Christmas action movie Red One is 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 comedy Red One. Directed by Jake Kasdan, Red One takes 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 the winter witch Gryla (Kiernan Shipka). Red One got negative reviews and has a 30% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes versus 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

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

As mentioned above, Red One is 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 are The Beekeeper (after 173 days), Challengers (158 days), and Creed 3 (99 days).

Even smaller productions, as is the case of the comedy-drama My Old Ass, fell into that window, waiting 55 days before hitting Prime Video. Red One, however, only waited 24 days after its theatrical release to 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 One isn’t a box office hit and it failed to break even, but it still performed well. Red One was made on a budget of $250 million, this being the final number after it was reportedly increased due to production 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 money Red One had to make to break even, leaving it at, at least, $500 million. Red One grossed $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 of Red One, and its box office numbers prove it.

Red One performed well enough to rank among the highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time, now ranking at #18, where Four Christmases used to be with $163.7 million. Even with its negative critical reception, general audiences were a lot more welcoming of Red One, and its box office numbers prove it. Red One also did well when looking at Johnson’s movies outside big franchises like Fast & Furious, the DC Universe, Jumanji, and Disney’s Moana.

Related 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 to The Numbers, Red One ranks above Tooth Fairy, The Game Plan, and The Scorpion King in Johnson’s filmography, and right below The Other Guys and Baywatch. Johnson has obviously found more success in big franchises and the movies that aren’t part of them haven’t reached high numbers, but Red One now ranks in a fairly good spot in his filmography. Even with its big-name cast, Red One wasn’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

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Red One isn’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 One now being available to stream is all about the Christmas season, and it 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, and Red One could join that list. Red One truly 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.