The Christmas film by Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans Red is new to streaming on Prime Video on Thursday, less than a month after its theatrical release. Why did the film make its debut on the streamer so quickly?

The logline for Red states: “After Santa Claus – codename: RED ONE – is kidnapped, the North Pole’s head of security (Johnson) must team up with the world’s most notorious bounty hunter (Evans) in a globe-spanning, action-packed rescue mission over Christmas.”

JK Simmons plays Santa Claus Redwhich also stars Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt and Kristofer Hivju.

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Red The film opened in 4,032 theaters on November 15 and grossed $34 million in its debut weekend. To date per The numbers, Red grossed $87. $1 million domestic and $78.7 million overseas, for a running worldwide box office total of $165.8 million.

Accordingly The numbers, Red had a production budget of $200 million before printing and advertising.

As of Thursday, Red is 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 during its theatrical run, it’s rare for it to simultaneously be available on streaming video-on-demand less than a month after its theatrical release is.

Streaming “Red One” on Prime Video now makes perfect sense

Perhaps the most important reason Red The reason the film debuted just as quickly as it did on Prime Video is because the film was originally supposed to start there.

Accordingly deadline, Red The film 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.

By releasing the film in theaters rather than immediately streaming it, Amazon MGM Studios was apparently able to recoup some of its production costs. As long as the film lasts, it will continue to make money And Delight viewers at home with quick – and very timely – arrival on streaming.

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At least with every theatrical release from Amazon MGM Studios – most recently Blink twice And My old ass– ends up on Prime Video at some point anyway. From a strategic perspective, it’s actually a smart and very sensible move for the company to move a few weeks earlier than normal – especially during the holiday season.

Due to time constraints, it wouldn’t make any sense at all for Amazon MGM Studios to start streaming Red on its Prime Video platform in January.

While Red was annoyed by Rotten tomatoes Critics see the Christmas action film very differently among audiences. As of Thursday, Red Ones Popcorn meter score RT is 90% fresh based on over 2,500 verified user reviews.

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans Red is now available to stream on Prime Video.

Corrected, December 12th: An earlier version of this article cited background information about Red One’s debut on Amazon Prime Video. Quoted material and its source have been removed.

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