Prime Videotook a massive gamble with their 2024 Christmas film,Red One, spending a reported $250 million on the yuletide action-flick. The movie starsDwayne “The Rock” Johnsonas Callum Drift, head of security at the North Pole, who must set out to track down Santa Claus (J.K. Simmons) when he’s kidnapped right before Christmas. To do so, he must enlist the elite hacker and (forgive us while we try not to cringe when writing this) “Level 4 Naughty Lister,” Jack O’Malley, played by Chris Evans. The movie flopped in theaters, grossing just under $100 million worldwide. But, whileRed Onewas immediately added to the box office naughty list, it’s still drawing in viewers on streaming.
As of the time of writing, over two weeks after Christmas Day,Red Onestill sits at the number 3 spot on Prime Video’s top 10 most popular movies of the week.Despite the poor reviews —Red Onecurrently sits at 30% on Rotten Tomatoes — the movie has won over many viewers, with a 90% audience rating on the review aggregate site.MovieWeb’s own Julian Romanenjoyed their viewing experience, rating the film 3/5. “Red Oneoffers a surprisingly clever take on Christmas mythology,” they wrote in their review. “The big-budget action-comedy delivers the requisite popcorn entertainment with visual splendor, but also succeeds in building its own new universe with truly memorable characters.”
Despite everything working against it,Red Onehas been a major streaming successfor Prime Video. As well as overstaying its welcome beyond the holiday period, the movie also smashed a major streaming record for Prime.Red Oneis now Amazon MGM Studio’s biggest ever opening on Prime Video. The film was watched by “over 50 million worldwide viewers” during its first four days on the streamer.
Will ‘Red One’ Get a Sequel?
Films can’t just be standalone experiences anymore, andRed Onetried to continue that trend. Despite its self-contained story of a dangerous mission to rescue Santa from theevil witch Gryla (Kiernan Shipka),Red Onealso tried laying the groundwork for a new cinematic universe. When Jack is taken to the North Pole for interrogation, he stumbles across several folkloric figures relating to popular holidays, including a living Jack-o'-lantern and the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, teasing a wider world of stories. While it doesn’t overtly tease a sequel, the ending ofRed Oneleaves things open-ended enough for Callum and Jack to return for another buddy-cop adventure.
‘Red One’s J.K. Simmons Shares His Vivid Memories of Terrorizing Children as a Mall Santa
J.k. Simmons is currently starring as Santa Claus in the Dwayne Johnson movie ‘Red One’, but he has previous form as Father Christmas.
As of the time of writing,Red One 2(orRed Two?) hasn’t been officially greenlit by Amazon MGM Studio. There is some doubt around whether the film will receive a sequel. Despite its immense streaming success, and being a big hit with general audiences, the lackluster critical reception and incredibly poor box office performance (especially in relation to its budget) might have landedRed Twoa permanent place on the naughty list.
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.
