Dwayne Johnson Facing A Devastating Box Office Flop?

By Renee Hansen | Published

dwayne johnson

When you hear the name Dwayne Johnson you think of “The Rock,” his wrestling moniker, muscles, a great smile, and box office success, not box office flop. But the Red Notice actor may be experiencing something akin to failure with his latest film Black Adam. According to Variety, The Warner Bros. DC universe film has so far only pulled in $387 million worldwide, but needs to net at least $600 million just to break even.

Black Adam, a spinoff of Shazam!, sees Dwayne Johnson as the titular villain in the film and, according to Variety, is being considered a flop for its performance in theaters. Many productions are struggling to attain pre-pandemic numbers, but the film cost $195 million to produce and would need to see earnings of $600 million to make its money back. 

The film, which has received mixed reviews, was released in theaters across the United States on October 21 and has only brought in $387 million worldwide during the seven-week run. This shows that no matter how big the superstar is, any film can flop on the big screen. 

Dwayne Johnson isn’t an actor who has seen many flops in his acting career. Considered one of the world’s highest-paid and highest-grossing actors, Johnson’s films have grossed over $10.5 billion worldwide and $3.5 billion in North America. 

While Black Adam may prove to be a Dwayne Johnson flop, there is still potential for more earnings with TV and streaming deals yet to come. And the fact is most movies rely on rentals, sales, product sales, etc., to make up for money lost in the theaters. 

dwayne johnson black adam
Dwayne Johnson in Black Adam (2022)

Dwyane Johnson isn’t the only actor currently seeing their films categorized as a flop at the box office. Strange World, Lightyear, Amsterdam, and Moonfall all failed to garner huge earnings during their theatrical runs in spite of boasting A-List talent. 

Next, Dwayne Johnson will star in several upcoming films that are sure to avoid the title flop. He will star in a sequel to the Netflix original film Red Notice and again be joined by Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. He will also star alongside Chris Evans and Lucy Liu in the holidayadventure comedy Red One. 

Another project Dwayne Johnson has long been tied to as an actor and producer is reimagining the 1986 movie Big Trouble in Little China, which starred Kurt Russell and Kim Cattrall.  The project has run into snags due to it being a legacy property, so it will be a sequel to the original rather than a remake. Not unlike the Jumanji movies Johnson starred in. 

Dwayne Johnson, who isn’t generally associated with box office flops,  began his wrestling career in 1996 after being cut by the Canadian football team, Calgary Stampeders. He is known as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. After eight years in the ring, Johnson would next turn his sights on the big screen and pursue his acting career.