The Rock Can’t Lift This One: The Smashing Machine Set to Deliver His Lowest Box Office Opening in Years

Weird but true: the Dwayne Johnson movie people are suddenly whispering about for awards might also be his softest opener in years. That contrast kind of fits this one.

Early box office check

The Smashing Machine started with Thursday previews and IMAX showings, pulling in $850,000. Per Deadline, the weekend is tracking in the $9-$12 million range. If it lands there, that would be a notable low for Johnson as a box office draw, even with names like Johnson and Emily Blunt up top.

To be fair, this was never set up as a four-quadrant smash. Benny Safdie does not make those kinds of movies. His last feature, 2019's Uncut Gems, topped out around $50 million at the box office, which is excellent for an anxiety-inducing indie but not blockbuster territory.

Meanwhile, the buzz is loud

The reviews have been strong, and Johnson in particular is getting the kind of praise that has people already talking about possible nominations later this year. Awards heat with indie-scale numbers is an odd combo for The Rock, but here we are.

Who made it and who's in it

The Smashing Machine is written and directed by Benny Safdie. The ensemble includes Emily Blunt as Dawn Staples, Lyndsey Gavin as Elizabeth Coleman, Oleksandr Usyk as Igor Vovchanchyn, Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman, Satoshi Ishii as Enson Inoue, James Moontasri as Akira Shoji, and Yoko Hamamura as Kazuyuki Fujita, among others. Johnson also produces alongside Eli Bush, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, David Koplan, and Safdie, with Tracey Landon serving as executive producer.

Inside baseball note: if those character names ring a bell, you probably watched a lot of late-90s/early-2000s MMA.

A quick team-up refresher

This is Johnson and Blunt's second go-round after Disney's 2021 Jungle Cruise. They are also set to reunite yet again for a Martin Scorsese movie about a real-life mob boss who led the largest organized crime syndicate on the Hawaiian Islands.