His latest film The Smashing Machine flopped at the box office, raking in just $5.9 million on opening weekend, despite big hype and a 15-minute standing ovation at Venice Film Festival.
Reuniting with Emily Blunt, Johnson plays real-life MMA champ Mark Kerr, whose battles inside the cage are nothing compared to his fight with addiction. Blunt plays Kerr’s wife, watching his downward spiral.
Critics praised the film and even tipped Johnson for an Oscar nod — but audiences didn’t show up. The numbers mark the worst opening of Johnson’s movie career, even worse than 2010’s Faster.
Still, The Rock’s not sweating it. He took to Instagram, saying the role “changed [his] life,” and thanked director Benny Safdie for trusting him. “You can’t control box office,” he wrote, “but you can control your performance.”
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Flop or future cult classic? Time will tell. But one thing’s clear — The Rock’s not done fighting yet.
