Key Takeaways
- Box Office Performance: The Smashing Machine had a disappointing opening, earning only $5.9 million domestically.
- Johnson’s Reflection: Dwayne Johnson acknowledged the film’s box office struggles while emphasizing its creative success.
- Character-Driven Roles: Despite the box office results, Johnson is committed to exploring more challenging roles in his career.
- Critical Reception: Critics have praised The Smashing Machine, suggesting it will be a success for A24 once fully released.
The Smashing Machine shows audiences a whole new side of Dwayne Johnson, well, for the few who’ve actually shown up to see it. Despite largely rave reviews, The Smashing Machine has unfortunately given Johnson the lowest box office opening of his career. Opening with just $5.9 million domestically, the film has been massively overshadowed by Taylor Swift and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another (which is in its second week).
In a rare move, Johnson has commented on the film’s disappointing box office on Instagram, although he’s quick to highlight its creative success.
“From deep in my grateful bones, thank you to everyone who has watched The Smashing Machine,” Johnson wrote. “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. Thank you brother for believing in me. Truth is this film has changed my life.“
It’s clear that The Smashing Machine isn’t exactly setting the box office on fire, but thankfully, Johnson doesn’t appear to be backing away from exploring more challenging, character-driven territory. I’m all for a big, loud Johnson action movie, but I’d rather see him dig into more roles that actually give him something to chew on.
The Smashing Machine is a powerful and gritty story chronicling Mark Kerr’s rise in the early days of MMA and ultimately becoming a UFC champion. However, his subsequent struggles with painkiller addiction and his turbulent relationship with girlfriend Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt) take an immense physical and psychological toll on his life and career.
Our own Chris Bumbray loved the film, saying, “The Smashing Machine should prove to be a success for A24 in every way once it gets its theatrical release, as critics will respect it while Johnson’s many fans will be dying to see him in something so different from the rest of his filmography. He’s done an excellent job reinventing himself, and no one can deny The Smashing Machine was well worth the effort all involved put into it.” You can check out the rest of his review right here. Also, be sure to let us know what you thought of the film as well!
