Dwayne Johnson’s latest film wasn’t exactly a “smash” hit. In fact, it was the lowest opening weekend of the blockbuster action star’s career.
Johnson starred in “The Smashing Machine,” an arthouse biopic written and directed by Benny Safdie that follows a few years in the life of UFC champion Mark Kerr. The film opened to third place with $6 million over the weekend, making it a box office low point for the cross-franchise lead.
Johnson took to Instagram on Monday to express gratitude for those who did show up for the film while addressing the elephant in the room.
“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,” the “Black Adam” star said.
This opening weekend was something of a rocky start for the life of “The Smashing Machine.” The film sees Johnson take on a highly dramatic role for the first time in years, leaving his typical action trappings behind for a biopic adapted from a Matt Kerr documentary of the same name.
From the moment the Johnson/Safdie collaboration was announced, many pegged it as a major Oscar hopeful, a legitimizing move from the action star whose franchises have dried up in recent years. The film opened to solid reviews, with Johnson in particular receiving praise for his turn.
However, “The Smashing Machine” had the misfortune of opening against the second weekend of “One Battle After Another,” one of the year’s best-reviewed films that speaks to a similar audience as the Safdie/Johnson prestige drama. “One Battle After Another” placed second over the weekend, taking in $11 million.
“The Smashing Machine” was also hit by a surprise bit of counter-programming, with “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” (only announced in September) taking the top slot over the weekend. The film, tied into the release of Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl,” made $33 million over the weekend.
With a reported $50 million budget, only time will tell what the longevity of “The Smashing Machine” will be after its box office flop — and if Johnson can still fight his way into the Academy Awards.
“It was my honor to transform in this role for my director Benny Safdie @bowedtie. Thank you brother for believing in me,” Johnson said on Instagram. “Truth is this film has changed my life. With deep gratitude, respect and radical empathy, dj.”
