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Chris is a Senior News Writer for Collider. He can be found in an IMAX screen, with his eyes watering and his ears bleeding for his own pleasure. He joined the news team in 2022 and accidentally fell upwards into a senior position despite his best efforts.
For reasons unknown, he enjoys analyzing box office receipts, giant sharks, and has become known as the go-to man for all things Bosch, Mission: Impossible and Christopher Nolan in Collider's news division. Recently, he found himself yeehawing along to the Dutton saga on the Yellowstone Ranch.
He is proficient in sarcasm, wit, Photoshop and working unfeasibly long hours. Amongst his passions sit the likes of the history of the Walt Disney Company, the construction of theme parks, steam trains and binge-watching Gilmore Girls with a coffee that is just hot enough to scald him.
His obsession with the Apple TV+ series Silo is the subject of mockery within the Senior News channel, where his feelings about Taylor Sheridan's work are enough to make his fellow writers roll their eyes.
While Alan Ritchson continues to be best known as the human battering ram at the center of Reacher, his 2025 buddy action comedy Playdate is quietly proving he doesn’t need brute force to pull in viewers. More than a month after its November 12 debut, the film is climbing Prime Video’s Top 10 across multiple international markets — and in some territories, it’s surging even higher.
Playdate is currently charting in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Belgium, and Portugal, while breaking into the Top 5 in countries like South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. That kind of long-tail momentum is rare for a streaming comedy, especially one that didn’t exactly win over critics.
Directed by Luke Greenfield and written by Neil Goldman, Playdate actually debuted at #1 on Prime Video in the U.S. during its opening week. The catch? Reviews were… not kind. The film currently sits at a 23% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, though audiences have been more forgiving, giving it a 58% audience rating. Still, none of that seems to be slowing it down.
Is 'Playdate' Worth Seeing?
Collider's Shawn Van Horn reviewed the movie for the site, but he wasn't won over, adding that he felt Ritchson was "the only reason" to check out the movie, and praised his ability to bounce around like a gigantic blond himbo. However, that was the only positive, with Van Horn stating that it "is a rushed and lazy action comedy that goes through the motions, speeding through a half-formed plot with little attention to character building outside a few dropped-in scenes".
Shawn concluded:
"Watching Ritchson in Playdate can't help but make you think of John Cena, another musclebound action star who can play the goofy guy with ease. Cena had better watch out, because Alan Ritchson is impressive at comedy and could be coming after the WWE star's roles. Playdate is a nonthreatening, forgettable movie. You won't remember it next week, and it doesn't want you to because it's just more disposable content. But you won't forget Alan Ritchson. If he can make crap entertaining, imagine him in a comedic role with a much better script."
Playdate is streaming now on Prime Video.
Release Date November 12, 2025
Director Luke Greenfield
English (US) ·