Tag: The Rock

The Rock says he never thought about box office performance for ‘The Smashing Machine’

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: A24

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson isn’t that concerned with the less-than-stellar box office performance of ‘The Smashing Machine’ and never was to begin with.

Speaking on a podcast for The Hollywood Reporter recorded for 500 film students at Chapman University, Johnson talked about why he wanted to do the movie and included a line about the box office performance for his biopic on former MMA/UFC fighter Mark Kerr based on the 2002 documentary of the same name.

“Smashing Machine also represents a turning point in my career that I’ve wanted for a long time. For the first time in my career…I made a film to challenge myself and to really rip myself open and to go elsewhere and disappear and transform and not one time did I think about box office,” he said.

Despite critical praise, the movie barely surpassed $20 million ($11.3 million domestic/$8.8 million international), the lowest-ever of any Johnson-led film.

He talked about how in Hollywood, the normal tendency is to be concerned about that and how sometimes, you wake up on a Saturday and feel good about things or sometimes you don’t. With this movie, “I had not thought about that at all.”

“And even that Friday night when we opened, I went to sleep peacefully and woke up peacefully because it represented this thing. And even though we didn’t do well (at the box office) or as well as we wanted to, it was okay because it just represented the thing I did for me,” he said, saying it did represent doing something he loves to do in telling stories and that the movie gave him an opportunity to have a place to put a lot of things he experienced growing up.

Johnson remains proud of the movie and that it completely changed my life in ways that I didn’t anticipate, because of what it represents. It represents, for me, listening to your gut, to your instinct, to that little voice. Sometimes in life, you think you’re capable of something, but you don’t quite know. And sometimes it takes people around you to go, ‘Come on, you could do this.’”

A streaming home and home availability date has not yet been announced.

WWE legend Kurt Angle reflects on working with The Rock, Steve Austin

Posted on by Joseph Currier

When he was coming up in WWE, Kurt Angle had the benefit of learning from two all-time greats.

The WWE Hall of Famer and Olympic gold medalist spoke with Going Ringside and reflected on what it was like to work with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin early in his pro wrestling career. Angle said The Rock taught him a lot about cutting promos — but Austin was the person he learned the most from overall.

“He was so entertaining, the guy was such a phenomenal athlete,” Angle said about Rock. “And his promo skills were above everybody else’s. He taught me a lot about cutting promos. He taught me a lot about wrestling in the ring.

“‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin actually was the one guy that I learned the most from. He was one of those guys who would call the match out in the ring, you know? He was an old-school wrestler. That means you don’t plan a lot of it backstage, you just go out there and do it. Improvise. And he was a great improviser. Him and Triple H and Undertaker were three of the best improvisers I’ve ever wrestled.”

Going Ringside also asked Angle to name the hardest opponent he ever faced in the ring.

“Brock Lesnar,” Angle responded. “He was a mixture of power, speed, agility. And he was so — 300 pounds and moved like a cat. I had never been in the ring with an athlete like that. He was an animal.”

The 56-year-old Angle is currently part of the Real American Freestyle wrestling organization as a commentator, analyst, and partner.

WWE veteran reveals The Rock’s career-changing moment

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

WWE and UFC veteran Ken Shamrock has opened up on the particular moment that completely changed The Rock’s pro-wrestling career.

In a recent interview with Wrestling Live Online, the 61-year-old Ken Shamrock recalled working with The Rock and his career-altering moment. Shamrock stated that The Rock’s transformation began when WWE let him do promos.

“You could tell immediately that his mind was different than everyone else’s. The way that he saw things, how he put matches together, being able to tie in what I did to what he does, being able to have those different swerves when it came to the finishes or even in between in the middle of the match. He just had that mindset that he’d see things before they happen. I saw right away, the mindset was there.

He started to develop that as we were doing our matches together. He started feeling very comfortable and confident in the direction that his character was gonna go. The minute they got him out of the Nation, the minute they handed him the mic, stars went off. It was just unbelievable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a transformation like that in my life that quick, where literally they just handed him the mic and game over.”

The Final Boss shares a vivid history with Shamrock with their rivalry dating back to 1998, when Shamrock feuded with the Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and the Nation of Domination. The duo faced each other multiple times at Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, the King of the Ring final, and more that year, feuding over the Intercontinental Championship.

WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle praises The Rock’s ‘Smashing Machine’

Earlier this year following the release of The Rock’s ‘Smashing Machine’, a biopic based on combat-sports veteran Mark Kerr’s life, WWE Hall of Famer and Olympic gold-medallist, Kurt Angle heaped praise on it.

“Just watched The Smashing Machine. What a fantastic film that I believe will be considered a classic. Mark Kerr was ‘The Guy’ I had to beat to qualify for the Olympic Games, which pushed me to transform into a version of myself I never thought I could be. Your story, beyond wrestling, is truly inspirational, my friend.”

The Rock says he has a ‘tiny bit of influence’ on John Cena’s final opponent

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Rock has some influence on who John Cena might face in his final match.

Talking to the Kelce brothers on their podcast New Heights, Rock said ultimately, the choice should be up to Cena, not himself or anyone else.

“You know, I have a tiny bit of influence in the booking of it, but it really is, it’s whoever John wants, whoever he wants, that should be your answer,” he said. “Really what it comes down to. It’s not me, Nick Khan, or Triple H. That guy’s earned it, and you know what, the best part about John is, he comes as advertised so who you think he is, that’s who he is, and he’s a good dude, and I love that guy.”

Cena’s final match is currently set for Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13 in Washington D.C. In the most recent issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was reported that Gunther would be Cena’s final opponent after winning a tournament, according to current plans. Cena’s only other scheduled match is for Survivor Series, where plans have him taking on Dominik Mysterio.

Update on ‘The Smashing Machine’ box office performance

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: A24

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s film The Smashing Machine continued to get smashed at the weekend box office as did several other new releases.

From Variety, the movie finished eighth overall with just $1.7 million generated from 3321 venues, a drop of 70% from its opening weekend last week.

The film appears guaranteed to be a financial loser for A24 with $10.1 million in gross revenues against a cost of $50 million.

Johnson plays former UFC/MMA fighter Mark Kerr in the dramatic version of the documentary of the same name that came out more than 20 years ago. It also stars Emily Blunt and former MMA champion Ryan Bader.

The poor showing wasn’t just for Johnson’s movie as the new Disney film Tron: Ares brought in just $33.5 million on 4000 screens in North America to lead the weekend. Other new releases like Roofman the Kiss of the Spider Woman remake also failed to draw much attention or revenue.

Report: The Rock took ‘significant’ paycut for ‘Smashing Machine’

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The Rock reportedly took a paycut for ‘The Smashing Machine.’

Deadline released a story on Monday highlighting the film’s dismal drawing power, only earning $5.9 million in its opening weekend, making it The Rock’s lowest drawing film to date. The article mentions Rock, who considered the movie a personal project, took a significant paycut for the film.

“Johnson took a $4M fee, significantly below his historical $20M+ paycheck plus points. Sources say he even gave a portion of his paycheck to Emily Blunt and [Mark] Kerr,” they wrote.

The article also mentions that despite the low numbers, the film is only estimated to lose around $10-$15 million dollars due to tax credits in Vancouver and New Mexico. The losses. according to the report, will be based on how much film studio A24 would want to push the movie ahead of awards season.

Earlier on Monday, Rock wrote on social media that the film “changed his life” while pointing out the film’s less than stellar opening weekend.

“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,” he wrote. “And I will always run to that opportunity. Truth is this film has changed my life.”

Smashing Machine opened third for the weekend behind ‘Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl’ at $33 million and ‘One Battle After Another’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio which opened at $11.1 million.

The Rock thanks ‘Smashing Machine’ viewers, says he can’t control box office

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is expressing gratitude for everyone who has taken time to go see his new movie.

With Johnson starring as MMA legend Mark Kerr, “The Smashing Machine” opened over the weekend. The results at the box office were underwhelming, but the movie marks a significant turn in Johnson’s acting career. He has received award buzz for his performance and is looking to prove that he’s capable of more as an actor instead of just being pigeonholed into one lane.

Johnson doubled down on that path in his Instagram post, saying he plans to explore more opportunities like this.

  • 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.
  • 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

“The Smashing Machine” is from A24 Films and director Benny Safdie. Johnson plays the soft-spoken Kerr in a role that explores Kerr’s MMA stardom, his battle with painkiller addiction, and his relationship with his wife Dawn.

Johnson and Safdie are already set to work together again on a film titled “Lizard Music.”

‘The Smashing Machine’ opening weekend does lowest of The Rock’s career

Posted on by Ian Carey

The Smashing Machine brought in $6 million over its opening weekend.

The Mark Kerr biopic cost $50 million to make and finished third for the weekend behind Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl (a behind-the-scenes look at the making of her “Life of a Showgirl” record), which brought in over $33 million, and One Battle After Another, which brought in $11 million.

According to an article from Variety, The Smashing Machine’s opening weekend did the lowest of any in Rock’s acting career.

“Elsewhere at the box office, audiences couldn’t smell what The Rock was cooking,” wrote Variety’s Rebecca Rubin.

“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).”

The film is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 74 percent approval rating based on 223 critic reviews and a 78 percent audience score based on more than 250 fan reviews.

The Rock’s performance as Kerr has been well-reviewed. The movie follows Kerr’s journey in the early days of mixed martial arts. Our own Josh Nason covered the film on a recent episode of JNPO, which also features an interview with Bas Rutten. The episode is available here.

Kurt Angle: ‘The Rock has done so much for my career’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Kurt Angle praised The Rock during a recent interview, mentioning that it’s “really cool” he plays Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine.

During an interview with Sports Illustrated, Angle spoke about how when he first got to WWE, Rock made sure Angle know he was accepted.

Angle said:

“The cool thing about him is he was really giving. I was an Olympic gold medalist, it wasn’t like I was a nobody coming into WWE but when you go in there with an ego you’re going to get in trouble very quickly. So I never had that ego and I always felt that these stars that I was going to wrestle like The Rock and Stone Cold, I put them at a higher level above me. But Dwayne always brought me up to that level and said, ‘Hey, you’re with us. You’re up here with us. You’re not down there with the rest.'”

He continued:

“He was always very generous with the way he wrestled. He was my first world championship match where I won the world championship. He didn’t have to say yes, but he did. So I’m just very grateful. I think The Rock has done so much for my career and I’m so grateful that he’s in the movie The Smashing Machine, that he played Mark Kerr. It’s all coming back, it’s going full circle and I think that’s really cool that he’s playing my biggest nemesis Mark Kerr.”

Angle defeated The Rock at No Mercy on October 22, 2000 to win his first world championship. Rock won it back from him that February at No Way Out. In total, they wrestled against each other on 7 pay-per-views between 2000 and 2002.

Also during the interview, Angle gave an update on the movie being written about his life, saying that the script is just about finished.

“We’re almost done with the script. We already got the investors, so we’re in a good position right now,” Angle said.

In a previous interview on Talk is Jericho, Angle noted that the film will cover the story of his Olympic gold medal win in 1996. The project will be directed by the Nelms brothers, who directed Red Right Hand (2024) and Fatman (2020).

The full interview is available below:

Daily Update: CM Punk, Triple H & Stephanie McMahon, The Rock

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

Latest News

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is out with the fallout of three major shows this past weekend and what key things we learned from them:

  • Reader polls on the weekend shows
  • Key points we learned from WWE going after AEW
  • Numbers for all three shows and how they did
  • Does the price make a difference, how is afternoon vs. evening?
  • What we’ve learned about AEW that goes against the grain of 30 plus years of PPV numbers
  • Mistico vs. MJF looked at as well as Mistico’s place in Lucha Libre history
  • Misconceptions about John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar
  • The next big shows from WWE & AEW
  • Lots of injury updates
  • Advanced ticket sales for the major shows over the next month
  • Odds for last weekend and next weekend
  • Where wrestling shows stood in the weekly ratings and comparisons with the same week in 2024 and 2023
  • Exactly how much the audience makeup has changed for AEW on television this past year
  • For every major TV show, what percentage of viewers were women this past week
  • Blue Panther wins title at 65 years old
  • Big head-to-head battles in Mexico City on Saturday and Sunday this week
  • Lineup for the women’s Grand Prix match in Mexico City with talent from RevPro, Stardom and AEW/ROH
  • Notes from the Pokemon CMLL crossover event
  • Story about the changes in the crowds at Arena Mexico and leading reporter opposes the story
  • Lots of health updates
  • Real American Freestyle signs first woman gold medalist
  • Masha Slamovich controversy
  • Zuffa Boxing close to announcing TV deal
  • Former WWE developmental talent signs with UFC for November debut
  • International promotion in talks with ESPN Unlimited
  • Jake Paul vs. Tank Davis silliness
  • Cody Rhodes talks Paul Levesque’s successor
  • Mark Shapiro talks how WWE & UFC will decide on locations for big shows
  • ESPN review of Wrestlepalooza and the controversy allows ignoring the far bigger story
  • Jazmyn Nyx turns down WWE offer, says it’s too low

This Week’s Back Issue

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Tuesday Update

WWE

AEW & Other Wrestling

JNPO: ‘The Smashing Machine’ review & a talk with Bas Rutten

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: A24/Eric Zachanowich

First announced two years ago, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s biopic on MMA legend Mark Kerr — The Smashing Machine — finally hits theaters this Friday.

After seeing a screening of the movie last week, Josh Nason gives you his full spoiler-free thoughts on the performances by Johnson, Emily Blunt and Ryan Bader. He also talks about whether this is a potential Oscar winner and movie critic culture he observed while in the theatre.

Then, Josh talks with one of the stars of the film: the one and only Bas Rutten. The former UFC and Pancrase champion turned broadcaster talks about his involvement in the film, whether it was difficult to go back to that time in his life, and his interactions with Johnson and Blunt.

Once you watch the movie, let Josh know what you think on X or BlueSky.

Click here to listen for free or stream for free on both Spotify or Apple Podcasts (search Wrestling Observer).

The Rock addresses latest interest in U.S Presidential run

Posted on by Ian Carey

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently addressed the possibility of him running for President of the United States of America.

The idea of him running for president has been floating around for years, even providing a key plot point of NBC’s Young Rock series. During a recent interview with Variety, Rock said he’s honored that people ask him about running for president, and concluded his comments by saying “we’ll see.”

The Rock says:

“It’s wild, man. I’m always honored when people ask that. I love what I do. I love storytelling. But yeah… we’ll see.”

A 2021 poll found that 46 percent of Americans would support Rock running for president, the highest percentage of any celebrity in the poll, beating out names like Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey. Shortly after the poll’s release, Rock commented on it in an Instagram post, writing:

“Humbling 🙏🏾🤯
I don’t think our Founding Fathers EVER envisioned a six-four, bald, tattooed, half-Black, half-Samoan, tequila drinking, pick up truck driving, fanny pack wearing guy joining their club – but if it ever happens it’d be my honor to serve you, the people”

Rock is currently promoting his Mark Kerr biopic Smashing Machine, in which he plays the title role. There have been rumours he could be in Oscar contention for his performance. He told Variety that he knew he had more to offer the acting world.

“I feel like this has, for me, been brewing inside of me for some time — just this idea of: ‘Wait, I think I can do more. I feel like I want to do more.’ And then it comes… and then I’m going to do it with Benny Safdie. And then I start to get a little cold feet — ‘Wait, can I do more?’ You know?”

Rock’s full interview with Variety is available here.

WOR: WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia, Wrestlepalooza main event

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

Dave Meltzer and I are back with the Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, talking about all the big news from today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Here were some of the things we discussed:

  • WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia is official for 2027 and the possibilities of The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin for that show
  • Wrestlepalooza main event
  • Rumors of Skydance/Paramount buying WBD and how that could affect AEW
  • Preview of the weekend

Click here to listen (sub needed) or watch on YouTube

Details on negotiations for megastar to be part of WWE WrestleMania in Saudi Arabia

Posted on by Josh Nason

With the impending announcement of WWE WrestleMania heading to Saudi Arabia for the first time ever in 2027 comes speculation of who could be part of the show given the large price tag TKO is getting for bringing it there.

Enter TKO Board member Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that those close to the Saudi Arabia General Entertainment Authority both confirmed the WrestleMania deal is official and “they claimed negotiations for Dwayne Johnson were advancing and they believed the deal was close to being finalized.”

While yet unconfirmed with anyone from WWE, “The impression is that the final payment number for the show will be affected by whether or not they get The Rock in the main event. The idea is that the individual payoff for Johnson would be multiple times that of any pro wrestler for any event in history.”

WWE is reportedly set to receive more than $100 million for the weekend of events.

The goal from the Saudi perspective seems to be either the 54-year-old Johnson vs. Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns.

The official announcement is expected to take place in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon.

That isn’t the only major star WWE is trying to recruit for the event. Read this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter for more.

New trailer released for The Rock’s ‘Smashing Machine’ movie

Posted on by Joseph Currier

To hype the movie’s fast-approaching release, A24 has released a new trailer for its film “The Smashing Machine” — starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as MMA legend Mark Kerr.

The film is set to be released on October 3 of this year. It marks a potential turning point in Johnson’s Hollywood career as he looks to show people he can be more than just a blockbuster star chasing box office numbers. Johnson plays the soft-spoken Kerr in a movie that tells the story of Kerr’s MMA stardom, his battle with painkiller addiction, and his relationship with his wife Dawn.

“The Smashing Machine” is directed and written by Benny Safdie, with Emily Blunt starring opposite Johnson. The movie received a standing ovation at the recent Venice International Film Festival. There has been buzz about Johnson potentially receiving award nominations for his performance.

After gaining muscle for the “Smashing Machine” role, Johnson has dropped a dramatic amount of weight for an upcoming role in another movie from director Safdie.

Johnson is also attached to star in a planned Hawaiian mob film directed by Martin Scorsese.

In WWE, Johnson was part of John Cena’s heel turn at Elimination Chamber this March but then took a step back from the angle without any direct follow-up. Cena turned back babyface over the summer.