Red Onehas broken a streaming record that may prove that Dwayne Johnson’s career is undergoing a major shift. Johnson is a star who is very familiar with shifts in his career, as he originally became famous as a WWE wrestler under the moniker “The Rock.” After taking on a role as the antagonist in the 2001 adventure sequelThe Mummy Returns, he began to transition toward acting, and he has become a major movie star with many blockbuster movies and franchises under his belt, including the newJumanjimovies, the Fast Saga, theMoanafranchise,Rampage, and more.
However, his new Christmas action-comedy underperformed both critically and commercially. On Rotten Tomatoes, it earned a dismal 30% score from critics, which ties it with 2005’sBe Coolas the eighth worst-rated Dwayne Johnson movie ever. Although its audience score on the platform is a Verified Hot 90%, this has not translated to success in theaters. TheRed Onebox officeonly hit a total of $182.8 million. While this was enough to make it the 24th highest-grossing movie of 2024 worldwide at the time of writing,the movie failed to recoup its enormous reported budget of roughly $250 million.
Why Red One’s Box Office Doesn’t Matter To The Rock
Dwayne Johnson’s recent Christmas movie, Red One, is looking like a box office bomb, but as it turns out, this isn’t a huge problem for the Rock.
Red One Broke Prime Video’s Streaming Debut Record In 4 Days
Prime Video Runs Many Major Blockbusters
In spite of the negativeRed Onereviewsand its lukewarm box office reception, the movie broke a streaming record once it made its debut on Prime Video. In mid-December 2024, during the lead-up to Christmas, the movie garnered50 million views within its first four days on the platform, even as it continued its run in theaters as one of the only major holiday-themed blockbusters of the year. This 50 million total marks it as the most-watched movie debut ever on Prime Video.
Red Oneis an Amazon MGM Studios production and was intended for an eventual Prime Video streaming release before it even hit theaters, as Amazon owns both the studio and the streaming platform.
This record is even more impressive when considered against the other blockbuster titles that have premiered on the platform, either after a theatrical run or exclusively on streaming. This roster includes the Dave Bautista action-comedyMy Spy, which was successful enough to earn the sequelMy Spy: The Eternal City,the Oscar-nominatedBorat Subsequent Moviefilm, the hit romance adaptationsThe Idea of YouandRed, White, & Royal Blue, both of which starred up-and-comer Nicholas Galitzine, the Eddie Murphy legacy sequelComing 2 America, the animated sequelHotel Transylvania: Transformania, and the buzzy Emerald Fennell dramaSaltburn.
Red One Is Dwayne Johnson’s Latest Movie To Break Streaming Records
He Previously Scored A Major Netflix Hit
This streaming success could help the new Dwayne Johnson movie eventually break even. While the massiveRed Onebudgetlikely means that the movie needs to earn $500 million or more to truly break even, its record-breaking debut could be followed by an annual viewership resurgence as it is watched or rewatched every year during the lead-up to Christmas in December. Its success also marks the second major streaming record broken by a Dwayne Johnson movie.
Typically, movies need to earn two and a half times their budgets in theaters to break even, both because production budgets don’t include marketing costs and because theaters keep half of ticket sales, though now that the movie is on streaming, that makes its exact break-even point even more unclear.
Back in 2021, the action-comedyRed Notice- in which Johnson starred opposite Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot - became a smash hit when it debuted exclusively on Netflix, who had acquired the project from Universal Pictures when its theatrical release was scuppered amid COVID-19 related shutdowns.Red Noticequickly rose to become the most-watched movieon the platform and remains their No. 1 feature-length title even though quite a few newer Netflix movies have become major Top 10 hits, including the 2022 Ryan Reynolds sci-fi movieThe Adam Projectand the Barack and Michelle Obama-produced 2023 thrillerLeave the World Behind.
Red One Proves Dwayne Johnson Is A Bigger Streaming Star Than Box Office Draw Now
His Box Office Results Have Been Dwindling In Recent Years
While it seemed that the star-studdedRed Onecast- which also includes J. K. Simmons, Lucy Liu, and Marvel Cinematic Universe star Chris Evans - would potentially help the movie become a smash theatrical hit, that possibility did not come to fruition. However, the success ofRed Noticefollowed by the streaming record broken by the 2024 Christmas movie show that Johnson still has major star power on streaming in a way that hasn’t proven to be the case for him in theaters over the past few years. Below, see a breakdown ofhis recent string of theatrical disappointments:
$200 million
$220.9 million
$90 million
$207.6 million
~$260 million
$393.5 million
~$250 million
$182.8 million
Part of the reason that these movies have underperformed is the fact thatJohnson’s star power comes with a huge price tag, making it difficult for many of the movies to earn their budgets back. However, even the slimmer-budgeted animated movieDC League of Super-Petsjust barely seems to have been able to break even in theaters. In general, the star is seeing a commercial downturn in theaters, yet his status on streaming does not seem to have been affected, if this new record is anything to go by.
What Dwayne Johnson’s Continued Streaming Success For His Future As A Movie Star
More Streaming Exclusives Could Be In His Future
This streaming success could mean that this Christmas action-comedy franchise could actually get off the ground, especially considering the fact that theRed Oneendingleaves the door open for a sequel. However, the possibleRed One 2could potentially be made as a streaming exclusive, designed to appeal directly to the audiences that most responded to it. If this movie is a success or if this trend continues with other movies,Johnson could potentially find himself as the star of many more movies designed to appeal to at-home audiencesinstead of theatergoers.
[Dwayne Johnson] scored a recent major hit withMoana 2…
However, this does not mean that Dwayne Johnson’s post-Red Onefuture will be entirely on streaming. He scored a recent major hit withMoana 2, which has already grossed $820.9 million against its $150 million budget at the time of writing. Movies like the upcominglive-actionMoanaremake, in which he reprises the role of the demigod Maui, will probably still continue to thrive in theaters, butthey may coexist alongside an increasing number of streaming titlesfeaturing the star in the coming years.
Red One
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.
