Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s latest project, The Smashing Machine, didn’t quite pack the box office punch some expected. The Mark Kerr biopic earned $6 million over its opening weekend, finishing third overall behind two other major releases.
The $50 million film landed behind Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl — a behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling the creation of her Life of a Showgirl album — which dominated the weekend with more than $33 million.
Coming in second place was One Battle After Another, which brought in $11 million.
According to a report from Variety, The Smashing Machine’s debut represented the lowest opening weekend of Johnson’s movie career.
Rebecca Rubin wrote in a featured article, “Elsewhere at the box office, audiences couldn’t smell what The Rock was cooking. This weekend’s other newcomer, Dwayne Johnson’s R-rated sports drama ‘The Smashing Machine,’ cratered in third place with $6 million from 3,345 venues. Those ticket sales were below projections of $8 million to $15 million and marked a career low for Johnson, below his 2010 thriller ‘Faster’ ($8.5 million, not adjusted for inflation).”
Despite the soft box office numbers, The Smashing Machine has been faring better with critics and fans alike. The film currently holds a 74% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 223 critic reviews, along with a 78% audience score based on more than 250 fan reviews — earning it a “Certified Fresh” distinction.
The movie, which stars Johnson as former UFC and PRIDE fighter Mark Kerr, has been praised for its raw, emotional storytelling and Johnson’s performance in a much grittier, more dramatic role than his usual blockbuster fare.
Johnson has been making the media rounds along with Kerr himself, and the two have made a considerable amount of individual appearances on various cable outlets, digital outlets and other popular platforms to spread the word about the critically-acclaimed film to virtually all genres of sport and entertainment.
Mark Kerr is a former UFC tournament winner and PRIDE veteran, who was also famously one of eventual WWE Hall of Fame legend Kurt Angle’s biggest career rivals from their wrestling days, splitting four meetings on the mats with two wins a piece, with Angle getting the more important wins that ultimately led to him winning a Gold Medal in the Olympics.
The Smashing Machine movie featuring the performance by The Rock that he hoped would lead to more serious acting roles in his future, is based on an HBO documentary on Mark Kerr from the early 2000s, which chronicled his rise to the top of MMA, while dealing with a growing drug addiction and increasing domestic issues along the way.
