Dwayne Johnson Responds to THE SMASHING MACHINE’s Rough Box Office Start: “You Can’t Control Box Office Results”
Dwayne Johnson just hit a career low at the box office, and he’s handling it like a champ. His new A24 drama The Smashing Machine opened to only $5.9 million domestically, marking the smallest opening weekend of his entire career.
But instead of dwelling on the numbers, Johnson took to Instagram to share a grounded and grateful message about what truly matters to him as an actor.
“From deep in my grateful bones, thank you to everyone who has watched ‘The Smashing Machine’. 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 went on to praise the film’s director, Benny Safdie, saying:
“It was my honor to transform in this role for my director, Benny Safdie. Thank you brother for believing in me. Truth is this film has changed my life. With deep gratitude, respect and radical empathy, DJ.”
Despite the film bombing at the box office, The Smashing Machine has earned widespread acclaim for Johnson’s raw, transformative performance as MMA fighter Mark Kerr, a two-time UFC heavyweight champion.
The film follows Kerr’s turbulent rise in the MMA world, exploring his intense relationship with his wife Dawn Staples (played by Emily Blunt) and his battles with addiction.
At the Venice Film Festival, The Smashing Machine received a standing ovation, with Safdie taking home the Best Director prize. Even critics who weren’t sold on the film itself praised Johnson’s performance, many calling it his most powerful and vulnerable work to date. There’s even early Oscar talk surrounding his portrayal.
Still, the movie’s $5.9 million debut from 3,345 theaters fell far short of expectations, which had ranged between $8 million and $15 million. The opening also underperformed Johnson’s 2010 action thriller Faster, which made $8.5 million.
Considering A24 spent around $50 million producing the film and millions more on promotion, including major festival appearances, the soft opening is a noticeable setback for the studio.
But Johnson isn’t letting numbers define the project’s worth. For him, The Smashing Machine was about transformation, not ticket sales. And if the early critical buzz is any indication, this could be one of those rare cases where a film’s cultural impact ends up lasting far longer than its box office run.
The Smashing Machine is now playing in theaters nationwide from A24.