Dwayne Johnson At The Box Office Post-COVID ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
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Dwayne Johnson is a mega star and has been so even before entering Hollywood. He has been part of some blockbuster films, but his post-COVID run is a bit tepid, and he needs a blockbuster to steer his career. His latest film, The Smashing Machine, is also experiencing an underwhelming performance. Keep scrolling for more.
Dwayne Johnson’s movies post-COVID
The Rock’s post-COVID theatrical releases include DC League of Super-Pets, Black Adam, Red One, Moana 2, and The SMashing Machine. This shows that Dwayne is betting on big, familiar brands and crowd-pleasing spectacles. Sticking to action, superhero, and family genres, Johnson leans on built-in audiences rather than riskier original stories, cementing his image as Hollywood’s larger-than-life hero.
Even Dwayne Johnson can’t guarantee a hit: no post-COVID blockbusters yet.
We will leave DC League of Superpets and Moana 2 out of this calculation as they are animated features. Black Adam was in the news for various reasons, one of which was Henry Cavill‘s return as Superman. But keeping that aside for now, it had a reported budget of $260 million and collected $393.4 million worldwide, as per Box Office Mojo.
This is barely profitable. Hollywood blockbusters usually need around 2.5× their production budget to break even. For Black Adam, the break-even target was $650 million; thus, earning $393.4 million means it underperformed relative to expectations. Again, Red One is also a major box office disappointment. It was also made on an estimated budget of $250 million and collected just $186 million.
Post-COVID, The Rock’s only clear blockbuster hit has been Moana 2
The only true blockbuster of The Rock post-COVID is Moana 2. Dwayne Johnson returned to voice the demigod Maui in the Moana sequel. The first film was a huge success, and the sequel was bigger than that. Released in 2024, it collected $1.06 billion in its global run against a $150 million budget.
The Smashing Machine is also tanking at the box office
Dwayne’s latest release, The Smashing Machine, also had an underwhelming run at the box office, collecting just $6 million on its opening weekend in North America. With this film, Dwayne has taken a risk; while most of his movies are larger-than-life commercial spectacles, this latest film is realistic and niche, which is the polar opposite in style. It is a biographical sports drama, and The Rock appears in the titular role of Mark Kerr. It has collected just $7.3 million worldwide in its first week. The film was released on October 3.
