The Rock’s 'Smashing Machine' Movie Bombs At Box Office; Ignites John Cena Debate

The Smashing Machine opened to $6 million at the domestic box office, which makes it the lowest opening of The Rock's career. Critics had raved about his performance in the movie and his dedication to the role, which saw him put on about 30 lbs.

The MMA biopic had a budget of around $50 million, also featuring Emily Blunt, and earned critical acclaim after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival. It faced competition from Taylor Swift's new concert movie, Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, but was projected to make $20 million in its first weekend.

Johnson's performance as Kerr has resulted in talk of a possible Oscar nomination, and Variety claims the 53-year-old is a "serious contender." The movie also saw the former WWE Champion team up with Blunt for the second time in their acting careers, having previously co-starred in Jungle Cruise.

"John Cena Could Never" - The Rock's Box Office Bomb Fuels Debate

The Rock is one of three WWE legends who have become household names in Hollywood and The Smashing Machine is the latest in his long list of blockbuster movies. He has starred in The Scorpion King (2002), Fast Five (2011), Moana (2016) Black Adam (2022) and Red Notice (2021).

Some critics and pro wrestling fans suggest that "Rock plays Rock" in his movies, feeling that he is often cast as the same type of character in each of his films. But his Oscar-worthy performance in The Smashing Machine has reminded some of his acting skills and how he can mix it up, but cult fans will know this from his role in Gridiron Gang (2006).

John Cena has become a popular actor who has caught the eye in recent years and earned the lead role in James Gunn's Peacemaker series. The 17-time world champion's movie catalogue includes WWE production The Marine (2006), Blockers (2018), Barbie (2023) and Heads of State (2025).

One fan responded to the news of Rock's movie performing poorly in it's first week by comparing him to Cena:

"John Cena could never flop at the box office."

According to The Numbers, Cena's worst opening week at the box office was Freelance (2023), which did $2.86 million on its opening week, also flopped with critics. But some fans think Cena has one up on The Final Boss:

"It's still funny to me that John Cena as Peacemaker became everything that The Rock wanted to be as Black Adam."

Cena has continued his role as Peacemaker since early 2022 and the HBO Max series has been handed a second series. Rock performed the role Black Adam for just one movie in October 2022 which was met with criticism and one headline that read "Rock can't save terrible DLC movie".

One fan gave an interesting verdict:

"You can tell The Smashing Machine is flopping cause it came out the same day as this episode yet like 3 posts of this clip have gone viral saying Cena a better actor when The Rock JUST dropped a movie giving one of the best performances of the year."

Cena and Rock's acting skills have been compared due to their transitions from WWE to the big screen. But some argue that Dave Bautista, who retired from pro wrestling in April 2019, is the best wrestler-turned-actor in history.

Batista has starred in Spectre (2015), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (2017) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The 56-year-old is focused solely on his acting career unlike Rock and Cena who still have balanced their Hollywood ventures with WWE part-time work.