DJCE_credit Hiram Garcia

Source: Hiram Garcia

Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans star in ‘Red One’

Amazon MGM Studios executives have been screening privately a 10-minute sizzle reel of the upcoming Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans Christmas action adventure Red One and discussing the upcoming theatrical slate with exhibitors.

Red One was originally planned to launch on Prime Video and will now open theatrically on November 15. The tentpole, which Screen and other outlets were not allowed to write about in any detail after watching the reel, offers an indication of what the studio, led by head of film Courtenay Valenti and head of theatrical distribution Kevin Wilson, plans to assemble.

Executives did not host a CinemaCon presentation this year but are bullish on theatrical and say they want to offer broad tentpoles and awards-focused films.

The studio will hold slots on its theatrical slate for Orion Pictures to amplifying underrepresented voices, and release faith-based films through its division The Wonder Project. Warner Bros is the international distribution partner on all Amazon MGM Studios releases.

Tentpole highlights in 2025 include Bart Layton’s heist thriller Crime 101 from Working Title based on a Don Winslow novella with Chris Hemsworth and Pedro Pascal reportedly attached to star; and Luca Guadagnino’s thriller After The Hunt starring Julia Robert from Imagine Entertainment.

2025 will also bring Timur Bekmambetov’s sci-fi Mercy starring Chris Pratt and produced by Bekmambetov and Oppenheimer’s Charles Roven; and David Ayer’s thriller Levon’s Trade starring Jason Statham based on a screenplay by Sylvester Stallone with revisions by Ayer.

Earmarked for 2026 is the Ryan Gosling sci-fi Project Hail Mary from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. General Admission led by Gosling and producer Jessie Henderson recently struck a three-year, first-look film deal at Amazon MGM Studios.

This year’s theatrical slate includes Luca Guadagnino’s R-rated romantic sports drama Challengers with Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist on April 26; The Blue Angels, a documentary shot for Imax about the Navy and Marine Corps flight squadron, on May 17; and Sundance acquisition My Old Ass starring Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza on August 2.

Black Panther cinematographer Rachel Morrison’s feature directorial debut and female boxing biopic The Fire Inside (formerly Flint Strong) opens on August 9; and Zoe Kravitz’s feature directorial debut and mystery thriller Blink Twice starring Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum on August 23. 

Screen understands Amazon MGM Studios will arrange varying exclusive theatrical windows depending on the title and is keen to build up a robust slate, which includes titles that will go straight to Prime Video. Theatrical releases will either go through the various ancillary windows before arriving on Prime, or go directly from theatres to Prime. Reports back in 2022 said the company planned to invest $1bn a year into theatrical production.

The MGM theatrical and Amazon Original Movies groups have been formally integrated, bringing streaming and theatrical film production and development under the purview of head of film production and development Julie Rapaport.

Valenti said, “From global, action films like The Beekeeper, to accessible, auteur-driven commercial fare like Challengers, to world-creating movies like Red One, our goal at Amazon MGM is to make movies that are big, broad stories defined by movie stars and a specific directorial vision that create cultural conversation and demand to be seen in the theatre.”

Wilson added, “We are working to strategically craft our slate to include more theatrical releases than ever before, and we are just getting started.”

 

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