The arrival of a another holiday season means movie fans will spend the next couple of weeks revisiting favorite classics like A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Muppet Christmas Carol (among plenty of others), but there are always newer festive-themed releases hoping to become part of the regular rotation. A high-profile newcomer last year was Red One, an action comedy starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans as a mismatched pair who embark on a mission to rescue a kidnapped Santa Claus and save Christmas. Despite the notable talent attached, Red One didn’t make the biggest impression during its theatrical run last fall, but now it’s gaining traction on streaming.
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According to FlixPatrol, which measures the popularity of titles across various streaming platforms, Red One is currently one of the biggest movies on Prime Video. It ranks No. 4 on Prime’s top 10, trailing She Rides Shotgun, Oh. What. Fun. (another new star-studded Christmas vehicle looking to become part of holiday traditions), and Tell Me Softly.
Red One Bombed at the Box Office, but It’s Paying Off for Amazon
As stated above, Red One had a rough time at the box office. While it managed to exceed low expectations, it only brought in $186 million worldwide against a production budget in the range of $200-250 million. Obviously, Amazon would have preferred if Red One became a major box office hit, but streaming was arguably the bigger priority here. Red One debuted on Prime Video roughly a month after it debuted in theaters, so a case can be made that this wasn’t strictly a commercial play for the multiplex; the goal was to give Prime Video’s library a big holiday movie that people could return to year in and year out. Whatever Red One made at the box office was gravy.
From that perspective, Red One can probably go down as a success. A year after its release, Prime Video subscribers have made a point to watch it as they count down the days until Christmas. Considering the largely negative reviews Red One received (30% on Rotten Tomatoes), some might find it surprising that the film has caught on so much with general viewers. However, fans seem to enjoy it much more than critics (the Rotten Tomatoes audience score is 89%). Based on the streaming numbers, the poor box office performance may not have been due to lack of interest; the prospect of a short theatrical window made it easier to wait to watch Red One.
While Red One is no critical darling, it has enough fascinating elements to make it a draw. Johnson and Evans are charismatic stars who make for an entertaining duo (with Evans gleefully playing against type as a hacker and bounty hunter). Seeing their names above the title will convince a lot of movie fans to push play. Red One also incorporates a lot of real Christmas mythology, and it can be fun to see a fresh spin on Santa Claus and Krampus. In a way, Red One brings something new to the table to help it stand out from the well-known holiday staples.
It will be interesting to see if Red One becomes a recurring hit for Prime every holiday season. If it is, then Amazon’s investment will be well worth it. Of course, there will continue to be new Christmas movies on Prime every year (see: Oh. What. Fun.), but it would be great if the streamer could put together its own collection of go-to holiday favorites, steadily building it up until it gets to the point where subscribers can watch a different movie on Prime each night until Christmas.
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