Dwayne Johnson Says Watching Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer Convinced Him To Make Red One For Imax Theaters

Dwayne Johnson reveals he watched Oppenheimer while he was shooting his brand-new Christmas movie Red One, and admits that watching the Christopher Nolan movie convinced him that Red One needed to play in IMAX theaters. Johnson’s new movie follows the North Pole’s Head of Security, who teams up with a bounty hunter after Santa Claus is kidnapped from the North Pole. In addition to Johnson, the cast of Red One includes Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, and J.K. Simmons.

Speaking with IMAX upon the release of Red One, Johnson discussed his experience watching Nolan’s Best Picture-winning Oppenheimer. The actor claimed that right after watching Oppenheimer, he knew that Red One in an IMAX theater would be the best way to watch the Christmas movie. Read Johnson’s full quote below:

With Red One, our intention was to make a movie that you can enjoy on the biggest screen possible. Legitimately the biggest screens possible are IMAX. I was midway through shooting
Red One
and I had an opportunity to see Oppenheimer. I watched in the IMAX theater where Christopher Nolan watches and screens his movies. Him and Emma [Thomas], his wife. I even asked to let me sit where Chris sits. They said, ‘Chris sits here.’ I watch Oppenheimer. It was amazing, but I was thinking: ‘Holy shit.
Red One
on this screen and with this technology could be game over.’ I remember texting [director Jake Kasdan] a picture of my bare chest and a picture of the screen and we realized how cool [IMAX] would be.

What Dwayne Johnson’s Oppenheimer Praise Means For Red One

Red One And Oppenheimer Are Very Different Movies

Oppenheimer was regarded by many as one of the best, if not the best, theater experiences of 2023. Therefore, it is not a surprise that the Cillian Murphy-led film inspired Johnson to want his own movie to play in IMAX theaters. Originally, Red One was actually supposed to be released on the Prime Video streaming service. Like Johnson’s 2021 Netflix movie Red Notice, it was not planned for a theatrical release at all. However, due to the Hollywood strikes in 2023, Amazon changed their strategy and decided to delay Red One by a year and release it in theaters.

Reviews for Red One have been quite negative, with many critics calling it a disappointing holiday movie featuring no chemistry between its two lead actors, Johnson and Evans.

In conjunction with the delays caused by the Hollywood strikes, Johnson’s recent comments suggest that he and director Jake Kasdan pushed to get Red One in IMAX theaters after seeing Oppenheimer. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that Red One will be as successful as Oppenheimer. Reviews for Red One have been quite negative, with many critics calling it a disappointing holiday movie featuring no chemistry between its two lead actors, Johnson and Evans. As of this writing, Red One has a score of 34% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Our Take On Dwayne Johnson’s Oppenheimer Praise

Johnson’s Had A Rough Streak, But There Are Promising Projects Ahead

Dwayne Johnson and Christopher Nolan are not an actor and director that people often associate together. Nolan is a highly-acclaimed and revolutionary filmmaker. Meanwhile, even though Johnson is one of the most popular stars in the world, the majority of his movies have been received poorly by critics and are not often regarded in the same way as Nolan’s films. Red One does not seem likely to break Johnson’s streak of poorly reviewed films. However, he does have some exciting movies coming up, such as Moana 2 and Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine.

Source: IMAX