Prime Video’s biggest blockbuster hit last year certainly delivered for audiences, but just like the chaos on screen, there were plenty of problems behind the scenes, too. Thanks to the Hollywood strikes, production was held up, and that means rising costs. But when a movie gets to number one on the charts, it makes it all worthwhile, right?
According to a modern report, Heads of State reportedly cost $190 million, with its budget ballooning during the strikes. The film still shot to the top spot on the service, but the costs certainly make you think twice. Again, this is not just “it looked high-priced, so let’s pick a number”, because, via Forbes, the budget became known through financial documents tied to the U.K. production structure and tax-credit system, the same kind of filings that can reveal how much major productions actually spent.
The film stars Idris Elba (Luther, The Suicide Squad) as Sam Clarke and John Cena (Peacemaker, Blockers) as Will Derringer, two world leaders forced to work together after becoming targets of a global conspiracy. Elba plays the British Prime Minister, while Cena plays the U.S. President, a former action movie star turned politician. The two clash, bicker, and eventually have to team up when things go spectacularly wrong, because apparently even international diplomacy needs a buddy-action phase.
The cast includes Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico, The Matrix Resurrections) as MI6 agent Noel Bisset, Jack Quaid (The Boys, Scream) as Marty Comer, Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon, Dead Man’s Shoes) as Viktor Gradov, Stephen Root (Barry, Office Space) as Arthur Hammond, and Carla Gugino (The Fall of the House of Usher, Gerald’s Game) as Elizabeth Kirk.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
????The Matrix
????Mad Max
????️Blade Runner
????️Dune
????Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re candid about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t lend a hand but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are tough to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle diminutive, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is enormous, thunderous, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Is ‘Heads of State’ Worth Watching?
Collider’s review stated that Heads of State knows exactly how dumb it is and turns that into its biggest strength, and argues that the chemistry of the leading duo is easily the best part of the whole thing. Much like their lively in The Suicide Squad, the two bounce off each other really well, giving the film the kind of buddy-comedy spark it needs. Credit is also doled out to Ilya Naishuller, who brings real style and personality to the action in a way that makes the movie feel more polished than a lot of other straight-to-streaming blockbusters. The plot is completely ridiculous and a lot of the supporting cast is wasted, but the film gets away with it because it fully embraces its own nonsense instead of pretending to be smarter than it is.
Heads of State is streaming on Prime Video.
Release Date
July 2, 2025
Runtime
113 minutes
Director
Ilya Naishuller
Writers
Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Harrison Query
Producers
Idris Elba, John Rickard, Marcus Viscidi, Peter Safran
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