The box office struggles have continued for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s new A24 drama, “The Smashing Machine.” According to a new report from Variety, the film saw a massive 70% drop in its second weekend, earning just $1.7 million from over 3,300 theaters. The steep decline places the film in eighth place overall for the weekend and brings its total domestic gross to only $10.1 million.
With a reported production budget of $50 million before marketing costs, the film is on track to be a financial disappointment for the studio, despite receiving strong critical reviews for Johnson’s dramatic performance. The film’s poor showing was part of a larger trend of underperformance at the weekend box office, as several other new releases also failed to meet expectations. The weekend’s top film, Disney’s new “Tron: Ares,” brought in $33.5 million in its debut.
“The Smashing Machine” is a passion project for Johnson, who portrays former UFC and MMA champion Mark Kerr in the biopic, which is based on a documentary of the same name. The film also stars Emily Blunt and former MMA champion Ryan Bader.
A recent report from Deadline revealed that Johnson took a significant pay cut for the role, receiving a $4 million fee, far below his usual $20 million-plus salary, and even gave a portion of his pay to his co-star and to Mark Kerr himself.