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‘The Smashing Machine’ Opens to $6 Million, Lowest Debut of Dwayne Johnson’s Leading Roles

Despite strong festival buzz, muted word-of-mouth left A24’s MMA biopic struggling to draw crowds on opening weekend.

Dwayne Johnson transforms in the Mark Kerr in "The Smashing Machine."
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Overview

  • The film is tracking about $6 million domestically for the weekend, placing third behind Taylor Swift’s theatrical event and One Battle After Another, according to multiple box office reports.
  • The audience grade landed at a B- on CinemaScore while critics sit around 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, with many praising Johnson’s transformative turn as Mark Kerr.
  • Industry reports cite a roughly $50 million production budget and a sizable marketing push, raising doubts about the movie’s path to profitability.
  • At the Los Angeles premiere at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre, Johnson called it “not a fight movie” but “a life movie,” emphasizing its focus on pressure, pain, and addiction.
  • A24 opened the film wide in North America on October 3 following Venice and TIFF momentum, but early projections in the mid-to-high teens fell away as the weekend progressed.