Why Did Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Red One’ Stream So Fast?

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’ Christmas movie The red one is new to streaming on Prime Video Thursday, less than a month after it debuted in theaters. So why did the film make such a quick debut on the streamer?

The log line for The red one reads: “After Santa – codename: RED ONE – is kidnapped, the North Pole’s security chief (Johnson) must team up with the world’s most notorious bounty hunter (Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.”

JK Simmons stars as Santa Claus The red onewhich also stars Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt and Kristofer Hivju.

ForbesWhen is ‘Kraven The Hunter’ coming to streaming and Netflix?By Tim Lammers

The red one opened on 4,032 screens on November 15 and earned $34 million in its debut weekend at the box office. To date, per The numbers, The red one has earned $87. 1 million domestically and $78.7 million internationally for a current worldwide cume of $165.8 million.

According to The numbers, The red one had a production budget of $200 million before print and advertising.

From Thursday d. The red one still playing on 3,150 screens in North America. And while it’s not unusual for a film to debut on digital streaming via premium video on demand while it’s still playing in theaters, it’s rare for it to be simultaneously available on streaming video on demand less than a month after its theatrical release.

Streaming ‘Red One’ on Prime Video now makes perfect sense

Perhaps the biggest reason The red one debuted as quickly as on Prime Video because that’s where the movie was supposed to start from in the first place.

According to Deadline, The red one was originally intended as a direct-to-streaming release for Prime Video, but the trade publication noted that Amazon MGM Studios opted for a wide theatrical release after the film performed well in test screenings.

As a result, going into theaters with the film instead of streaming it outside made it clear that Amazon MGM Studios could recoup some of its production costs. As long as the film keeps its legs, it will continue to make money and please home viewers with the quick – and very timely – arrival on streaming.

Forbes12 Best Animated Christmas Movies or TV Specials, Rated by Rotten TomatoesBy Tim Lammers

After all, every theatrical release from Amazon MGM Studios – most recently Blink twice and My old ass— will end up on Prime Video at some point anyway. Strategically speaking, going a few weeks earlier than usual – especially during the holiday season – is actually a smart and very sensible move for the company.

As a matter of timing, it wouldn’t make any sense at all for Amazon MGM Studios to start streaming The red one on its Prime Video platform in January.

While The red one was excited by Rotten tomatoes critics, the audience sees the Christmas action film quite differently. From Thursday d. The red one Popcorn meter score on RT stands at 90% “fresh” based on more than 2,500 verified user ratings.

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’ The red one is available to stream now on Prime Video.

Corrected, December 12: An earlier version of this article reported cited background information related to ‘Red One’ debuting on Amazon Prime Video. Cited material and its source were removed.

Forbes‘The best Christmas competition ever’ New on digital streaming this weekBy Tim Lammers