A disappointing audience reception is playing a spoilsport in The Smashing Machine‘s path to success; the movie tanked at the domestic box office in its first three days of release. The Smashing Machine was initially projected to gross $20 million in its first weekend, but that was before Taylor Swift announced the release of her new concert film, Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl. Even until a few days ago, The Smashing Machine was looking at a $10 million-plus haul in its opening frame, but the number it has now settled at is almost baffling to behold. The film made just $6 million this weekend, falling short of not only Swift’s new offering, but also last week’s One Battle After Another.
Starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, the sports drama is one of A24’s more expensive projects. It cost a reported $50 million to produce, putting it in the same range as last year’s Civil War. But that film made more than $25 million in its first weekend, and ultimately grossed over $100 million globally. The Smashing Machine marks Benny Safdie‘s first film as solo director, after he split from brother Josh Safdie, who has his own A24 release around the corner. Starring Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme is also a sports drama, and an even more expensive one at that, with a reported budget of $70 million.
Both films, and Civil War as well, represent a leveling up for A24, which carved a niche for itself with director-driven small-budget films over the last decade. However, with stars of Johnson’s stature aligning their career paths with the company’s own vision for the future, it seemed like the endangered mid-budget movie might be back into vogue. But Johnson’s poor streak at the box office is showing no signs of abating. The star has delivered bombs such as Jungle Cruise and Black Adam in recent years, and this is the lowest opening weekend haul of his career as a leading man, below even the $8 million haul of his 2010 vehicle Faster.
‘The Smashing Machine’ Received Mixed Reviews from Audiences
That said, he received universal acclaim for his performance in The Smashing Machine, although the movie itself has attracted a rather divisive response. It holds a 73% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Dwayne Johnson goes the distance with his transformative turn as Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine, a gritty biopic that sidesteps cliché even at the expense of narrative satisfaction while still landing the dramatic body blows that count.” However, the film could only manage a B- grade from opening day audiences on CinemaScore, which certainly doesn’t bode well for its future, or Johnson’s next film with Benny Safdie. Shot on 16mm, 70mm, and VHS tape, The Smashing Machine in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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October 3, 2025
- Runtime
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123 minutes
- Director
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Benny Safdie
- Writers
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Benny Safdie
- Producers
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Beau Flynn, David Koplan, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia
