Dwayne Johnson’s latest movie, The Smashing Machine, had the worst opening weekend of his career — but the Rock says he’s not worried about that.
The Smashing Machine, which stars Johnson as MMA legend Mark Kerr, grossed just $5.9 million over the weekend. That was only good enough for third on the weekend box-office chart behind Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. Box-office experts had expected the movie to make somewhere in the $8-15 million range, meaning it failed to even hit the low-end of their projections.
But in a post to his Instagram account, Johnson talked about the “honor” he felt being associated with the project.
“From deep in my grateful bones, thank you to everyone who has watched The Smashing Machine, he wrote, adding…
In our storytelling world, you can’t control box office results — but what I realized you can control is your performance, and your commitment to completely disappear and go elsewhere. And I will always run to that opportunity. It was my honor to transform in this role for my director Benny Safdie @bowedtie. Thank you brother for believing in me. Truth is this film has changed my life. With deep gratitude, respect and radical empathy, dj
In other words: The Rock knows his role, and he is not going to shut his mouth.
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A24 reportedly spent some $50 million on The Smashing Machine, a number that supposedly does not include whatever additional funds the company spent on marketing the project. The film, and particularly Johnson’s performance, earned strong (although not universally positive) from critics after a run in fall film festivals including Venice and Toronto.
The film follows UFC fighter Mark Kerr during the early years of mixed-martial arts’ growth throughout the world. Injuries sustained in the sport lead him to drug abuse, which in turn affects his relationship with his girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt). Johnson donned elaborate prosthetic makeup to portray Kerr.
During its tour of festivals, numerous awards experts predicted Johnson could be in line for an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. It remains to be seen whether the film’s subpar box-office performance will affect Johnson’s chances at an Oscar nom this year.
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