Amazon/MGM decided to lift the embargo on “Red One” at midnight on election night. What does that tell you? They’re trying to hide the reviews for this one, and for good reason. “Red One” STINKS. It’s unwatchable. It’s crass entertainment.
“Red One” currently has a 37 on Metacritic and, so far only four positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. It doesn’t help that the movie cost $250M to produce and is currently tracking at a $30M opening. Amazon/MGM must be wondering what went wrong.
Amazon had originally dated “Red One” to release in December 2024 but then delayed the release by 11 months and it’s now set to hit theaters next week (November 13). The action Christmas comedy stars Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, JK Simmons, and Kiernan Shipka.
Part of the reason for the movie’s massive delay were reshoots, not to mention the budget ballooning to catastrophic levels. Apparently, star Dwayne Johnson was partly to blame as the actor was frequently late to the set (“7-8 hours on average”) and would sometimes just not show up — his behavior cost production well over $50M.