Idris Elba and John Cena starred in Heads of State, an action comedy that premiered on Prime Video last month. Elba and Cena are billed as the film’s top stars. However, AI tools showed that the film’s third lead, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, was the real force behind the movie’s success.
Amazon MGM Studios bypassed theaters for Heads of State and released it directly to Prime Video on July 2, 2025. The decision to head to streaming paid off. Per Deadline, the action comedy registered over 75 million worldwide Prime Video viewers in just over one month.
Heads of State is the fourth-most-watched Amazon MGM Studios film on Prime Video of all time, behind Red One, The Accountant 2, and The Tomorrow War.
One could assume that global stars like Elba and Cena would be the reason behind the surge in viewership. According to AI tools, Chopra Jonas was the biggest draw.
Per Variety, representatives for Chopra Jonas used Grok and ChatGPT to measure and analyze viewer sentiment. Using an AI breakdown based on volume, headlines, and quoting intensity, Chopra Jonas had a buzz rate of around 50% to 60% on the film. The same formula had Elba and Cena between 20% and 25%, nearly half the amount generated by Chopra Jonas.
“I don’t think she would normally be credited for [the film’s success] because she’s not the lead. She’s not a ‘Head of State,'” Anjula Acharia, Chopra Jonas’ manager, said to Variety. But in this case, the data doesn’t lie.”
The data support Chopra Jonas’ huge crossover appeal thanks to her career as a Bollywood actress.
AI is changing how Hollywood operates. Saying AI around someone in the business will almost always generate a negative reaction. Most people fear that increased AI will lead to the loss of jobs.
Acharia, conversely, believes AI can help gather data points to use during contract negotiations for future roles.
“You can really see where the cultural heat is building, and it gives you that data really fast,” Acharia added about using AI tools to help her client.
Heads of State is now on Prime Video.
