Dwayne Johnson was once considered one of Hollywood's highest-grossing stars, but a string of misfires at the box office are starting to downgrade that title, the latest being the holiday-themed Red One.
In Red One, the actor stars alongside Lucy Liu and J.K. Simmons as the head of the North Pole's security, who recruits a hacker (Chris Evans) to help him locate a kidnapped Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
Red One Adds to The Rock's Downward Streak At the Box Office
Red One is just the latest in several box office flops for Dwayne "The Rock Johnson, which is disappointing news for one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. Some of his other recent flops include:
Jungle Cruise
Jungle Cruise was released simultaneously in cinemas and as a pay-per-view on Disney+. It earned $90 million in combined revenue from both revenue streams.
Against an estimated $200 million budget this would have been another disastrous misfire for Johnson, who leads the film alongside Emily Blunt. However, the film was released during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many cinemas were closed, so the film was given something of a pass due to these circumstances.
Black Adam
Black Adam was supposed to shift the hierarchy of the DCU to put Johnson on top, but it did not do so at the box office.
The movie ended its theatrical run with $390 million at the global box office. This may seem a significant number, but when compared with the film's estimated $200 million budget (plus around $100 million for marketing), it was not high.
Black Adam's profitability became a point of controversy in 2022, as outlets published conflicting reports over whether the film was expected to turn a profit or not.
Fast X
Fast X was the star-studded beginning of the end for the long-running Fast and the Furious franchise. Along with stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Momoa, Brie Larson, and Jason Statham, The Rock also made his return to the franchise in Fast X.
The only thing bigger than all the star power involved in Fast X was the film's budget. Forbes revealed earlier in 2024 that Fast X's final budget came in at one of the most expensive of all time, landing in the $450 million range. It was estimated Fast X would need to make $800 million to turn a profit.
The film ended up bringing in around $715 million globally, but this was enough for the film to just crawl into the black and turn a profit, according to Variety.
Red One
Red One was expected to be the Christmas movie of the season but since its release on November 6, it's seen anything but joy at the box office.
In Red One's domestic debut, it earned just $32 million in its opening weekend. Things did not get better for the movie in the subsequent weeks, ending with a $166 million worldwide gross.
The numbers only get worse when factoring in Red One's budget which was reported to be something in the $250 million range. There are several rumored reasons for the budget of the film to be so high, but The Rock's rumored record-breaking salary on Red One is no doubt a contributing factor.
Another contributing factor to the downturn in ticket sales is the film's reviews. Red One scored only a 30% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes with critics. With audiences being more conservative with their movie choices amid a cost of living crisis, these poor reviews no doubt hindered the traction of Red One at the box office.
An unofficial rule of thumb in the film industry is that a movie needs to make back two times its budget to break even, and Red One did not make even half that at the box office.
This dire box office run was undoubtedly part of the reason Red One's streaming release date was pushed up, with the film arriving on Prime Video barely a month after its theatrical release.
Given this recent run of box office misfires for Dwayne Johnson it raises the question of whether one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors should continue to be rewarded so highly by the studios, given his bankability has seen a downturn in recent years.
Red One is now available to stream on Prime Video.
