Red One's new streaming record continues a major trend for Dwayne Johnson that signifies a new phase in his career

Red broke a streaming record that could prove Dwayne Johnson's career is going through a huge change. Johnson is a star who is very familiar with the changes in his career, as he originally became famous as a WWE wrestler under the nickname “The Rock”. After taking on the role of antagonist in the sequel to the 2001 adventure The mummy returnsHe began to transition into acting and became a huge movie star with many blockbuster films and franchises under his belt, including the new Jumanji films, the Fast Saga, the Moana franchise, Furyand much more.

However, his new Christmas action comedy underperformed both critically and commercially. On Rotten Tomatoes, it got a dismal score of 30% from critics, which ties it back to 2005. Be nice as the eighth lowest-rated Dwayne Johnson film of all time. Although its audience score on the platform is Verified Hot 90%, this has not translated into success in theaters. THE Red the box office only reached a total of US$182.8 million. While this was enough to make it the 24th highest-grossing film of 2024 worldwide at the time of writing, the film failed to recoup its huge reported budget of around $250 million.

Red One broke Prime Video's streaming debut record in 4 days

Prime Video features many big box office hits

Despite the negative Red critical reviews and its lukewarm box office reception, the film broke a streaming record as soon as it debuted on Prime Video. In mid-December 2024, before Christmas, the film won 50 million views in the first four days on the platformeven if it remained in theaters as one of the only Christmas-themed box office hits of the year. This total of 50 million marks it as the premiere of the most watched film of all time on Prime Video.

This record is even more impressive when compared to other highly successful titles that debuted on the platform, whether after showing in theaters or exclusively on streaming. This list includes Dave Bautista's action comedy My spywhich was successful enough to earn the sequel My Spy: The Eternal City, the Oscar nominee Borat Subsequent Moviesuccessful novel adaptations The idea of ​​you and Red, white and royal blueboth starring the promising Nicholas Galitzine, the sequel to Eddie Murphy's legacy Coming 2 Americathe animated sequence Hotel Transylvania: Transformaniaand the hectic drama of Emerald Fennell Salt burn.

Red One is Dwayne Johnson's latest film to break streaming records

It has already scored a huge success on Netflix

This streaming success could help Dwayne Johnson's new film break even. While the massive Red budget likely means the film needs to earn $500 million or more to truly break even, its record-breaking debut could be followed by an annual resurgence in viewership as it is watched or rewatched every year in the lead-up to Christmas in December. Its success also marks the second major streaming record broken by a Dwayne Johnson film.

In 2021, the action comedy Red Warning — in which Johnson starred alongside Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot — became a smash hit when it debuted exclusively on Netflix, which acquired the project from Universal Pictures when its theatrical release was hampered amid COVID-19-related shutdowns. Red Warning quickly became the most watched film on the platform and remains its No. 1 feature film title, although some more recent Netflix films have become big hits in the Top 10, including the 2022 Ryan Reynolds sci-fi film The Adam Project and the 2023 thriller produced by Barack and Michelle Obama Leave the world behind.

Red One Proves Dwayne Johnson Is a Bigger Streaming Star Than the Box Office Draw Right Now

Its box office results have been declining in recent years

Although it seemed like the star-studded world Red The cast - which also includes JK Simmons, Lucy Liu and Marvel Cinematic Universe star Chris Evans - would potentially help the film become a huge theatrical success, but that possibility did not come to fruition. However, success Red Warning followed by the streaming record broken by the 2024 Christmas movie, that Johnson still has major star power in streaming in a way that hasn't proven to be the case for him in theaters in recent years. Below, see a breakdown his recent series of theatrical disappointments:

Part of the reason these films underperformed is the fact that Johnson's star power comes at a huge pricemaking it difficult for many films to recoup their budgets. However, even the lowest-budget animated film DC League of Super-Pets It barely seems to have broken even in theaters. Overall, the star is experiencing a commercial decline in theaters, but his streaming status doesn't appear to have been affected, if this new record is anything to go by.

What's Dwayne Johnson's Continued Streaming Success Like for His Future as a Movie Star?

More streaming exclusives could be in your future

This streaming success could mean that this holiday action comedy franchise could really take off, especially considering the fact that the Red the ending leaves the door open for a sequel. However, the possible Red 2 it could potentially be made as a streaming exclusive designed to directly appeal to the audience that responded most to it. If this film is a success or if this trend continues with other films, Johnson could potentially become the star of many more films designed to appeal to domestic audiences instead of spectators.

However, this does not mean that the post-Red the future will be entirely in streaming. He scored a recent big hit with Moana 2which has already grossed $820.9 million against its $150 million budget at the time of writing. Movies like the next live action Moana The remake, in which he reprises the role of demigod Maui, will likely continue to thrive in theaters, but they can coexist with a growing number of streaming titles featuring the star for years to come.