When it comes to big things, they don’t come much bigger thanDwayne Johnson, something he is proving again by getting Netflix to splash out a reported $200 million plus on his new filmRed Notice. In a post on his Instagram account, the star teased a release date for the movie is coming soon, and many believe it will arrive sometime over the Thanksgiving weekend thanks to the message ending with the hashtag of “#holidays2021”.
Red Noticepairs Johnson, who also produces, withGal Gadot, Ryan Reynolds, Ritu Arya, and Chris Diamantopoulosin a story that sees Johnson’s Interpol agent Rusty, who is said to be the world’s greatest tracker, come together with Gadot’s world’s greatest art thief and Reynolds' world’s greatest conman. With three big star names attached, it is easy to see where a lot of the budget has gone, and it seems that the likes of Scorsese’sThe Irishman, with a reported budget of $160 million, and6 Underground, which also starred Reynolds and had a $150 million budget, pale in comparison.
“Red Noticeis the largest investment@Netflixhas made thus far in a film - and our relentless hard work is to ensure we make good on that investment for our Netflix partners - and deliver an awesome movie for our global audience,” Johnson wrote, before ending with the tease of a “big release date announcement coming up very soon.”
The Netflix movie started filming early in 2020. Despite the onset of the global health crisis, the movie managed to complete the shoot back in November, thanks to what Johnson referred to as the “most aggressive health and safety Covid measures in all of Hollywood.” With so many other productions having to delay filming substantially through much of the year, it certainly seems that nothing can stop The Rock.
Red Notice, along with its huge budget, offers even more proof of how the lines between cinema and TV streaming are not only becoming blurred, but are actually almost non-existent. For the likes of Johnson, Gadot and Reynolds to appear in a movie destined for the small screen would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Similarly, a TV movie with a $200 million budget would have been laughed out of many a studio, but times have changed and streaming is big business. Thanks to the pandemic, that has never been more true, and while cinemas recover over the next few months, it is going to be the likes of Netflix and the creatives behindRed Noticethat reap the benefits of any audiences still not quite ready to venture back out into theaters just yet.
While we wait for the official announcement of when we will be able to see Dwayne Johnson’s latest action blockbuster, we can rest in the knowledge that this is unlikely to be the last massive budget to be spent to lure thebiggest stars, best directors and most extraordinary special effects to the streaming universe. Don’t be surprised if we see more blockbusters from Johnson and Co. heading straight to streaming platforms in the coming years.
