Christmas action-comedy Red One looks set to be a financial and critical disappointment, but the movie may have been more successful had it been made 10 years ago. The film has received mostly negative reviews, and with an absurdly high budget, Red One seems like it will be unlikely to make its money back. These combined factors clearly put Red One on the back foot, but there’s another, perhaps more surprising reason that the film’s 2024 release was likely to always end in failure.
Red One‘s cast is, at least in a vacuum, a perfect mix to attract the movie-going public to the theaters, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Chris Evans as its dual protagonists, with plenty of other well-known actors in supporting roles. However, with Red One‘s poor reviews and the changes in how people view their movies, the film seems like a product of a bygone age. This is particularly true, considering how both Evans’ and Johnson’s careers have gone in the 10 years since 2014.
Dwayne Johnson & Chris Evans Were Better Positioned To Make Red One A Decade Ago
Their Star-Power Combined Could’ve Potentially Turned Anything Into A Hit
If it was released in 2014, a film like Red One could have potentially been the huge success thanks to the pull its two co-stars used to have. Dwayne Johnson is still a certified movie star, but it has been proven that his name alone isn’t enough to get people to go out and watch a movie, with Black Adam and Jungle Cruise as prime examples. By contrast, i n 2014, The Rock could headline a franchise to success, with his involvement in the Fast and Furious franchise (among other successful projects) highlighting his appeal.
With both Johnson and Evans seemingly struggling to replicate past success, their value as headliners may be far less than it was 10 years ago.
The other big star is also unfortunately in the same boat, but to arguably an even worse degree. Chris Evans’ MCU run ended with Avengers: Endgame in 2019, and since then, his career has mostly been a disappointment, with a great initial post-E ndgame role in Knives Out, followed by very little. Disappointments like Lightyear, The Gray Man, and Ghosted all demonstrate how he has struggled to find his feet after leaving Steve Rogers behind. With both Johnson and Evans seemingly struggling to replicate past success, their value as headliners may be far less than it was 10 years ago.
Red One Could’ve Been A Bigger Success In 2014 Even With Bad Reviews
10 Years Ago A Rotten Score Wouldn’t Sink A Movie Like This
Beyond Red One‘s two costars, it’s important to acknowledge wider industry trends that may have impacted the film. In recent years, the film and TV landscape has changed so drastically, and Red One seems like a film that hasn’t caught up with the times. In the modern market, if a movie fails to establish itself as an event, many potential viewers are happy to wait for it to arrive on streaming, especially with more family-oriented movies. If the choice is between spending $60 on taking your whole family to see the poorly-reviewed Red One, or to watch one of Netflix’s hundreds of Christmas movies of roughly the same quality, the answer seems obvious.
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However, in 2014, the media landscape was very different. Even if a movie was critically panned, there wasn’t going to be a slew of similar films coming straight to everyone’s TV, and so it was either the theater or nothing. If Red One had been released in 2014, with the same level of quality, odds are the film would have found more success as the holiday movie of the year, but as it stands, the film seems like it’ll be just another footnote to maybe find a little success on streaming over the next few holiday seasons.
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.
- Release Date
- November 15, 2024
- Cast
- Dwayne Johnson , Chris Evans , J.K. Simmons , Lucy Liu , Kiernan Shipka , Bonnie Hunt , Kristofer Hivju , Nick Kroll , Wesley Kimmel , Mary Elizabeth Ellis , Wyatt Hunt , Lanz Duffy , Marc Evan Jackson , Ashleigh Domangue , Cody Easterbrook , Jon Rudnitsky , Morla Gorrondona , Jenna Kanell , Rod Maxwell , Fedor Steer , Octavia Grace , Matthew Zuk , Cora Kass , Ahmad Ghafouri , Jeff Chase