The Smashing Machine is set for a devastating week 2 drop. The new Benny Safdie movie, which stars Dwayne Johnson as UFC champion Mark Kerr, opened in theaters on October 2 and earned a 3-day domestic box office debut of $5.8 million. That marked the worst opening weekend in history for a wide release with Johnson in a lead role.
Per ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, as of Saturday morning, The Smashing Machine is projected to earn an additional 3-day total of $1.8 million by the end of its second weekend in theaters. In addition to seeing the movie slide from No. 3 all the way to No. 8 on the domestic chart, this marks a staggering 69% drop for its sophomore weekend.
In addition to being the worst drop for any movie in the domestic Top 10 this weekend, this is the second-worst drop in history for any movie starring Dwayne Johnson in a lead role. Because his worst-ever тιтle remains 2005’s Doom (-72.7%), The Smashing Machine also marks his worst drop in 20 years.
Additionally, 2025’s The Smashing Machine is only Dwayne Johnson’s 10th movie ever to have a week 2 drop of more than 60%. While its sophomore weekend gross could still exceed expectations by the end of Sunday, it seems unlikely to escape his Bottom 5 sophomore drops of all time.
Doing so would require The Smashing Machine to earn $2.1 million this weekend, shrinking its drop to roughly 63.8% and beating 2013’s Fast & Furious 6 (-63.9%). This may be difficult, though it is not impossible, considering the fact that the weekend’s No. 1 blockbuster, Tron: Ares, is underperforming and thus is not providing as much compeтιтion as anticipated.
Below, see a breakdown of the 10 worst week 2 drops for any movie starring Dwayne Johnson in a lead role:
|
тιтle |
Domestic Debut |
Week 2 Drop |
|---|---|---|
|
Doom (2005) |
$15.5 million |
-72.7% |
|
The Smashing Machine (2025) |
$5.8 million |
-69% (est.) |
|
Southland Tales (2007) |
$117,000 |
-68.1% |
|
Fast X (2023) |
$67 million |
-65.6% |
|
Fast & Furious 6 (2013) |
$97.4 million |
-63.9% |
|
Moana 2 (2024) |
$139.8 million |
-63.3% |
|
Hercules (2014) |
$29.8 million |
-63.1% |
|
Pain & Gain (2013) |
$20.2 million |
-62.9% |
|
Fast Five (2011) |
$86.2 million |
-62.4% |
|
The Fate of the Furious (2017) |
$98.8 million |
-61.1% |
One thing that could help The Smashing Machine power through is the fact that the Dwayne Johnson movie has strong reviews, having earned a Certified Fresh score of 72% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes with an even stronger 77% score from audiences.
It could also earn a significant boost if the buzz around Johnson’s performance ends up earning him a Best Actor nomination at the 2026 Academy Awards. However, The Smashing Machine reportedly cost $50 million, and its current trajectory, given this brutal drop, shows that it’s unlikely to ever make back its budget in theaters, let alone hit its break-even point.
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