Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’ Christmas movie Red One is new in theaters. Should you stick around for the end credits?
The movie plays in previews Thursday before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday. The logline for Red One reads, “After Santa Claus (code name: Red One) is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) must team up with the world’s most infamous bounty hunter (Chris Evans) in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.”
Rated PG-13, Red One also stars Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Kristofer Hivju, Bonnie Hunt, Nick Kroll, Mary Elizabeth Ellis and J.K. Simmons—who plays Santa Claus.
Produced and distributed by Amazon MGM Studios, Red One will open in 4,032 North American theaters in addition to getting an international release.
What Happens During The End Credits Of Dwayne Johnson And Chris Evans’ ‘Red One’?
Generally, scenes during a film’s end credits or a post-credits scene serves one of two functions: either they tie up loose ends from a scene earlier in the movie or tease a potential sequel.
However, Red One has does not feature any end credits or a post-credits scene.
Of course, a film doesn’t need to feature scenes during the end credits or after the credits to get a sequel. Generally, the production of a sequel depends on how well a film performs financially unless, of course, it’s part of a shared universe like Marvel and DC’s comic book movies.
Given the enduring appeal of the Christmas holiday and Santa Claus, it wouldn’t be a stretch for the filmmakers to come up with a sequel idea for Red One—but the odds are stacked against Amazon MGM Studios for that to happen considering the film’s massive cost.
Per Variety, Red One’s production budget was $250 million before prints and advertising. To the film’s disadvantage, it is projected to only make $30 million to $35 million in its opening Friday to Sunday frame domestically.
Red One, of course, is sure to make more money when it debuts on digital streaming via premium video on demand, but whether the revenue the film generates is enough to financially justify a sequel is yet to be seen. In addition, Red One will eventually find its streaming on video on demand home on Amazon’s Prime Video.
The irony is, Red One, per Deadline, originally was supposed to debut as a straight-to-streaming release for Prime Video. However, the trade publication noted that Amazon MGM Studios opted for a wide theatrical release after the film did well in test screenings.
While a sequel to Red One is unlikely, there are ideas in the Red One that could conceivably lead to spinoff movies. That’s because in Red One, Lucy Liu plays the head of the Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority—M.O.R.A. for short—which is a secret organization that protects mythological beings and creatures.
Since there’s an appearance by a mythilogical figure tied to Halloween featured early on in Red One, the producers of the film could conceivably get creative and center a film around the character or other mythological characters that M.O.R.A. protects. It’s a longshot, but the idea for Red One spinoff movies definitely are there.
Directed by Jake Kasdan—the filmmaker behind Dwayne Johnson’s Jumanji movies—Red One plays in Thursday previews before opening in theaters nationwide on Friday.
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