Since its premiere in Venice, critics have praised A24’s “The Smashing Machine” as a bold performance for Dwayne Johnson, playing against the electrifying, blockbuster-fueled image he has built since his days as The Rock.
But the audience doesn’t seem to be interested in Johnson’s dramatic leap, playing a vulnerable and prosthetic-laden performance as MMA legend Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie’s sports drama. “The Smashing Machine” earned an opening weekend of just $5.9 million from 3,345 theaters. It’s the lowest wide opening of Johnson’s career, falling below the $8.5 million opening of the 2010 action film “Faster.”
“From the artistic side of things, people are celebrating that Dwayne Johnson took this risk. He knew better than anybody else that he was going outside of his comfort zone both as an actor and what he’s known for publicly,” said Fandango’s movie analytics director Shawn Robbins. “Unfortunately, this was another instance of the artistic and business sides of the movies not lining up.”
Compared to past A24 wide releases, “The Smashing Machine” earned little more than half of the $11.3 million opening that A24’s romantic drama “The Materialists” — starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans — earned this past June. It has also opened below the $6.79 million launch of the surreal fantasy “The Green Knight,” which was released on 2,790 theaters at the start of the theatrical pandemic recovery period in summer 2021.
This isn’t the first time Johnson has deviated from the action star reputation he has been known for. Nearly 20 years ago, he starred in “Donnie Darko” filmmaker Richard Kelly’s dystopian thriller “Southland Tales,” which polarized attendees at its Cannes premiere and went nowhere at the box office but has since become a cult film and is regarded as one of his best performances.
But “The Smashing Machine” is a film designed by director Benny Safdie — who won the Silver Lion at Venice for his work — to defy what one might expect from a combat sports biopic starring a former pro wrestler turned blockbuster action hero.
Based on the 2002 HBO documentary of the same name, “The Smashing Machine” focuses on three specific parts of Mark Kerr’s life and career from that film: his life-threatening opioid addiction, his turbulent relationship with his then-girlfriend Dawn Staples (played by Emily Blunt) and his attempt to turn his struggling fighting career around by entering the 2000 Pride FC Grand Prix in Japan.
What the film focuses less on is Kerr’s rise in the early days of the UFC, back when it was staving off bankruptcy and congressional investigations rather than making $7 billion deals with Paramount and preparing to run fights on the White House lawn.
By focusing on Kerr’s struggle to return to the heights of success he enjoyed earlier in his career — think “Raging Bull” but with a likable protagonist — Safdie gives Johnson more time to show a side of his acting chops he’s never revealed on-screen. He’s more vulnerable and soft-spoken, whether in a scene talking to an elderly woman in a doctor’s waiting room or developing a brotherly relationship with his former coach turned potential in-ring rival Mark Coleman.
And while there’s in-ring action to be found in “The Smashing Machine,” it is violent and chaotic rather than exciting, and Kerr is more often than not shown on the losing end of it. After decades of performances going back to “The Scorpion King” in badass, triumphant action roles, Johnson plays a fighter who learns to accept the end of his hopes of being a champion with grace, and the film’s trailers made that play against type the core pitch to moviegoers.
But was this what the core audience this weekend wanted? According to Posttrak data, “The Smashing Machine” drew an opening weekend crowd that was 69% male and 64% 18-35, around what you would expect for a sports film starring Johnson rather than the makings of an arthouse audience.
And if it was a sports-loving audience that was responding most to the marketing for “The Smashing Machine,” then its release date in October may have worked against it. October is a smorgasbord of sports, and this past weekend featured a full slate of pro and college football, the MLB playoffs and — perhaps most crucial to “The Smashing Machine” — a UFC pay-per-view.
“A lot of the people who would be most interested in a sports film were at home watching sports all weekend,” Robbins said.
Those who did buy a ticket gave the film a B- on CinemaScore and a 78% Rotten Tomatoes audience score. Like the critics, the buzz around the film has been that while Johnson turns in an incredible performance, the film’s plot doesn’t go deep enough into Kerr or Dawn’s psyche to be compelling on its own, and its bittersweet ending may not have been the story that an audience not already familiar with the fighter’s life wanted to see from a night at the movies.
“Sports dramas’ widest appeal comes from underdog stories that have a hopeful triumph. It’s a time in pop culture where people are looking for escapism and hope, and it can be a hard sell for one of the most popular actors of recent years to play a role that doesn’t give that,” Robbins said.
While not the most auspicious start to this chapter of Johnson’s career, that doesn’t mean it has to end here. Earlier this summer, he had been circling a potential project directed by Martin Scorsese and set in Hawaii before the filmmaker pivoted to the ghost story “What Happens at Night.” And Johnson’s already planning a reteam with Safdie for a film called “Lizard King.”
And while “The Smashing Machine” may not be resonating with the public, the actors’ branch of the Academy may still consider him for an Oscar nomination.
Johnson himself acknowledged the numbers this weekend, accepting the results with Mark Kerr-like grace on social media.
“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,” he said on Monday.
For now, though, it’s back to blockbusters for The Rock, as he is set to roll cameras on his third “Jumanji” film for Sony Pictures this November. He also is set to reprise Maui in a live-action remake of Disney’s “Moana” that finished filming last year and is set for release next summer.