While Wicked, Gladiator II and Moana 2 continue to crush it out at the box office, the streaming wars are about to heat up, with three contentious 2024 movie releases hitting some of the best streaming services this week. Yep, Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans’ holiday flick Red One, Blake Lively’s controversial It Ends With Us, and Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga’s musical Joker: Folie à Deux will all be available to watch from the comfort of your homes, and I know which one I’ll be streaming first.
The only thing the three films have in common is their widely mixed reviews from critics and audiences and their slightly controversial releases. However, if you’re in the mood for a triple feature and own subscriptions to Netflix, Prime Video, and Max, then you’re in for a treat — whether it is a good or bad one remains to be seen.
Critics And Audiences Can’t Seem To Agree About These 2024 Releases, Except For Their Opinions Of Joker: Folie à Deux
While it’s not surprising that these three films are all making their streaming debut around the holidays, I am shocked that Red One will be available to those with a Prime Video subscription so soon. The action holiday flick was released less than a month ago and is still in theaters near me. However, it's jarringly different critical and audience responses might explain things.
Despite Red One’s star-studded cast that included Johnson, Evans, J.K. Simmons, and Lucy Liu, it struggled at the box office. Also, even though audiences gave the film a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, critics went as far as calling it a “lump of coal” while giving it a 30%. Now, with its debut on Prime Video this week, you can judge whether this holiday flick deserves a spot in the best Christmas movies of all time for yourself.
On the opposite side of the movie genre spectrum, Lively’s book-to-screen adaptation It Ends With Us is finally making its debut on Netflix after releasing in theaters in August. With a massive fandom behind the Colleen Hoover novel, it’s no surprise that the film performed well at the box office and with audiences. However, critics weren’t too sure what to make of Lily Bloom's story.
Couple that with the controversial press tour and an alleged feud amongst co-stars that involved a rumored second cut of the film being commissioned, and It Ends With Us’s release was almost as messy as the story itself.
Rounding out this week's films hitting streaming services is Joker: Folie à Deux, the musical sequel to Phoenix’s highly acclaimed 2019 Joker. Unlike the first film, neither audiences nor critics took a liking to the movie, making it undoubtedly a disaster. It currently boasts 32% in both critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes. And I hate to say it, but I think the audience score might suffer more damage now that more people can check the movie out if they have a Max subscription.
So, with all that being said, when it comes to my streaming plans this weekend, there's one film that stands out among the rest.
With Christmas Less Than Two Weeks Away, I’ll Be Watching Red One ASAP
Admittedly, none of these movies piqued my interest enough to make the trip to the movie theaters. However, now that I can watch them from home, I’m tempted to check them out, especially Red One.
As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of Christmas movies, I have to give the Johnson and Evans flick a chance. For starters, it’s an original idea that’s not based on IP or a sequel, which is hard to come by in today’s movie landscape. Am I totally on board with the idea of Santa being kidnapped? Of course not, but I also didn’t love the concept of Santa being a ruthless vigilante killer in 2022’s Violent Night, and I ended up loving that one. So, I'm open.
Hopefully, Red One will be just as enjoyable, even though action movies aren’t my usual cup of tea.
If you’re looking for ways to procrastinate on your holiday shopping and don’t feel like braving the crowds at the theaters, break out those streaming subscriptions and enjoy some of this year's most controversial releases from the comfort of your home.
