It’s a December to remember for Prime Video. Per the streamer, the Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans Christmas flick “Red One” attracted a record-breaking 50 million worldwide viewers in its opening weekend on Prime Video (measured over four days), becoming Amazon MGM Studios’ most-watched film debut ever on the streaming platform.

It’s a true Christmas miracle for the film, which boasted a Santa-sized $250 million budget and opened to just $32 million in the U.S. last month. Amazon MGM head of theatrical distribution Kevin Wilson hinted at the studio’s justification for spending big without requiring a lot of ticket sales in return, telling Variety in November, “Whether or not people like it, the value of these movies is different for our business model. … If we can put these movies out theatrically and cover our P&a [print and advertising] costs, why wouldn’t we? We’re getting a massive marketing campaign that’s...