Warning: This article contains spoilers for Red One!

With most expensive Christmas movie of all time.

The movie starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans has continued to bring in a steady amount of money every week since its release, despite Red One's critic reviews, crossing the threshold into the 25 highest-grossing movies of 2024. Red One could have grossed even more at the box office in the weeks leading up to Christmas, except that the movie will quickly shift from theatrical to streaming – a decision that highlights a major mistake on Amazon’s part.

Red One's Quick Streaming Release Is Timed For The Christmas Holiday Season

Red One Will Release On Prime Video On December 12th

Most production companies wait around a month and a half between a movie’s theatrical release and its VOD release. Even then, movies typically stay on VOD for a period before going to streaming, requiring viewers to pay for rentals or purchases. This model allows production companies to get the most money that they can out of a film. However, Amazon is releasing Red One on Prime on December 12, less than a whole month after its theatrical release. The timing is entirely strategic. This gives viewers two weeks to enjoy the movie before Christmas Day.

Though the decision makes sense from a business standpoint, it begs the question of why they didn’t just release the film closer to Christmas to begin with. The more optimistic answer is that they wanted to avoid direct competition with movies like Wicked and Gladiator II, but this doesn’t wholly explain the choice. After all, Red One only got one week before it competed with those two big-name movies at the box office. This leads to a much more cynical answer – Amazon didn’t care about the theatrical performance.

Red One's Streaming Release Proves Amazon Never Really Cared About Its Theatrical Performance

Amazon Clearly Cared More About The Streaming Release Than The Theatrical Release

The short time period between the theatrical release and streaming release makes it seem like Amazon wanted to have its cake and eat it, too. They knew the plan was always to put the movie on the streaming site shortly before Christmas, so the theatrical run was simply a way to get a little extra money from the viewers. The choice might have also appeased the big-name stars who appear in the movie, though that’s just speculation. If this is true, then the company probably doesn’t care that Red One has failed to make back the money that it cost to make because they never planned on it being a box-office hit.

Would Red One Have Done Better At The Box Office With A Christmas Release?

Red One Would Have Done Better Closer To Christmas

If Red One came out in the month of December, the movie would probably have done better at the box office. The first or second weekend of December would have been the ideal time. The first weekend, the only major competition would have been Moana 2, which would have been in its second week. The hype from Wicked, Gladiator II, and Moana 2 would have tapered down some by the second week of December, giving the Dwayne Johnson action-comedy movie more of a fair chance.

There won’t be an incentive to pay for a movie ticket when individuals can just stream that movie and many others for the same price with an Amazon Prime hip.

Since Red One is an action-comedy family movie, the only genre competition in the second weekend of December would be The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim, but those two movies have a different tone and style. The following week, it would have gone up against Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog. However, Red One would have had an edge over the others since it’s the only Christmas movie.

Unfortunately, Amazon shot itself in the foot by releasing the movie so early before Christmas. More and more people are delaying Christmas celebrations until after Thanksgiving, meaning the turnout might not have been as good as if they had released Red One later. Additionally, if past trends stay true, the movie will be doomed at the box office after it is released for streaming on December 12th. There won’t be an incentive to pay for a movie ticket when individuals can just stream that movie and many others for the same price with an Amazon Prime hip.