‘Red One’ Becomes Prime Video’s Top Film Debut With Drawing 50 Million Viewers

For Prime Video, it’s a memorable December. According to the streamer, the Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans Christmas movie “Red One” reached a record-breaking 50 million viewers globally during its four-day premiere on Prime Video, making it the most-watched movie debut ever for Amazon MGM Studios on the streaming service.

The movie, which had a Santa-sized budget of $250 million and only made $32 million in the U.S. last month, is a real Christmas miracle. Kevin Wilson, head of theatrical distribution for Amazon MGM, alluded to the studio’s rationale for making large expenditures without expecting high ticket sales in November when he told Variety, “Whether or not people like it, the value of these movies is different for our business model. … If we can put these movies out theatrically and cover our P&A [print and advertising] costs, why wouldn’t we? We’re getting a massive marketing campaign that’s being paid for before the film gets to streaming.”

The movie did better with viewers, receiving an A-grade from moviegoer pollster CinemaScore, despite critics like Variety’s Owen Gleiberman mostly criticizing it and giving it a 33% “rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes.

In addition to Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Kristofer Hivju, Nick Kroll, Wesley Kimmel, and J.K. Simmons, “Red One” is still showing on huge screens across the world, including over 3,000 in North America and 3,300 elsewhere. Chris Morgan wrote the screenplay, which Jake Kasdan directed. Hiram Garcia, Johnson, and Dany Garcia of Seven Bucks Productions, Morgan of Chris Morgan Productions, and Kasdan and Melvin Mar of The Detective Agency are producers.

Callum Drift, played by Johnson, is the chief of North Pole security. He reluctantly joins forces with Chris Evans’s naughty hacker Jack O’Malley to locate a kidnapped Santa Claus in time for Christmas in this PG-13 holiday action comedy.

“Given the audience response to ‘Red One’ both in theaters and on Prime Video, the film will clearly be a perennial holiday favorite for years to come,” said Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke on the film’s streaming debut. “Every film is different, and we are so grateful for the partnership with our filmmakers in collectively finding the right strategy to get this film in front of the widest possible audience. 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.”

Earlier this year, Prime Video claimed that Jake Gyllenhaal’s “Road House” was its most-watched debut film, with 50 million viewers. However, that number was gathered over two weekends, as opposed to “Red One’s” four-day runtime.