Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson claimed the action/comedy Red Notice is Netflix's biggest movie investment to date.
Johnson made this claim in a post on his official Instagram account featuring images from what he described as "two [final,] very productive and focused days back on [the Red Notice set]." He went on to say the movie is "the largest investment [Netflix] has 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." The Rock also teased a release date announcement "coming up very soon" before alluding to Red Notice arriving during the late-year holiday season.
Red Notice stars Johnson as an INTERPOL agent who teams up with an infamous con artist (Ryan Reynolds) to capture the world's most notorious art thief, played by Gal Gadot. Universal and Legendary acquired the film after a competitive bidding war in Feb. 2018, only for Netflix to pick it up in July 2019. Red Notice began filming in Jan. 2020 but stopped a couple months later in response to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It resumed shooting the following September before wrapping in Nov. 2020, pushing its projected release date back to late 2021.
In spite of Johnson's claim, it's unclear if Red Notice still represents Netflix's largest film investment. The movie's initial production budget was $160 million, but it's since climbed to upwards of $200 million, in part due to the increased costs of filming amidst the continuing global health crisis. However, in March, the streamer spent $450 million to secure the rights to Rian Johnson's Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3, the sequels to the filmmaker's popular 2019 whodunnit.
Moreover, the Russo Brothers are currently directing Netflix's pricy The Gray Man, an action/thriller based on Mark Greaney's 2009 novel. With a cast led by Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas, The Gray Man has a reported production budget of $200 million, potentially making it even costlier than Red Notice. Netflix wants The Gray Man to launch a franchise, which is a big factor in its spending decisions on the project.
Directed by Rawson Marshall Thuber, Red Notice stars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, Ritu Arya and Chris Diamantopoulos. The film has yet to receive a release date.
Source: Instagram