Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is responding to the lukewarm box office performance of his latest release, The Smashing Machine. The sports drama, which also stars Emily Blunt, opened in theatres last Friday and has managed to make $6 million in its first weekend. Taking to his Instagram account, Dwayne has now penned a note to thank fans and shared how the film changed him forever. (Also read: Dwayne Johnson gets the lowest opening of his career with The Smashing Machine at just $6 million)
What Dwayne said
Dwayne shared two stills of himself in character from the film's shoot, and wrote in the caption, “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.”
‘This film has changed my life’
He added, “And I will always run to that opportunity. It was my honor to transform in this role for my director Benny Safdie @bowedtie. Thank you brother for believing in me. Truth is this film has changed my life. With deep gratitude, respect and radical empathy, dj.”
{{/usCountry}}He added, “And I will always run to that opportunity. It was my honor to transform in this role for my director Benny Safdie @bowedtie. Thank you brother for believing in me. Truth is this film has changed my life. With deep gratitude, respect and radical empathy, dj.”
{{/usCountry}}As per Variety, the film was at the third place in its opening weekend, managing to make $6 million from 3,345 venues. The film has a budget of $50 million in production alone, with additional costs in promotions. It fell behind the concert film, Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, which managed to collect $33 million over the weekend. Then there was Leonardo DiCaprio’s One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, which collected $10.3 million in its second weekend.
In The Smashing Machine, Johnson plays MMA fighter Mark Kerr, which is inspired by the 2002 documentary with the same name. The film also explores his relationship with his then-girlfriend, played by Emily Blunt. The film is directed by Benny Safdie.