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A24’s “The Smashing Machine” has been praised for packing a subversive punch<\/a>, but the Benny Safdie-directed, Dwayne Johnson-starring sports drama isn’t a commercial success. In fact, “The Smashing Machine” set an unwanted box office record for Johnson<\/a>, with the film opening to $6 million domestically on the back of a $50 million production budget (and that doesn’t even include marketing costs). Given that Johnson is one of the most famous on-screen performers on the planet, it probably wasn’t the opening he was expecting, but the wrestler-turned-actor is still proud of the project. As he wrote on Instagram<\/a>:<\/p>\n “From deep in my grateful bones, thank you to everyone who has watched ‘The Smashing Machine.’ In our storytelling world, you can’t control box office results \u2014 but what I realized you can control is your performance and your commitment to completely disappear and go elsewhere. And I will always run to that opportunity. It was my honor to transform in this role for my director Benny Safdie @\u200cbowedtie. Thank you brother for believing in me. Truth is this film has changed my life.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Johnson’s performance as MMA fighter Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine” has already generated some Oscar buzz, so he might still take home some awards for the movie \u2014 the ultimate ointment for soothing the sting of a box office flop. What’s more, it probably won’t take long until the self-proclaimed most electrifying man in all of entertainment is dominating the box office again.<\/p>\n\n