Just a few weeks ago, the buzz about a potential Oscar win for Dwayne Johnson was real, and it became a major discussion on social media. His performance in the Mark Kerr biopic, The Smashing Machine, received a grand reception, but it appears that the performance of the movie at the box office was rather disappointing. The former WWE Champion and Hollywood A-lister has addressed the issue on social media, with a special message to IMAX.

Dwayne Johnson‘s The Smashing Machine was his first step towards taking on a challenging role. He went through a dramatic physical transformation to portray MMA pioneer Mark Kerr, but the movie has only been able to generate $5.9 million, even with a supporting cast that includes Emily Blunt. But despite the setback, Johnson appears to be rather positive about the outcome, with IMAX believing that he did a great job playing the MMA legend.

Dwayne Johnson and IMAX exchange pleasantries on social media

Dwayne Johnson is aware of the poor financial performance of his movie at the box office, but he’s not worried about that at all. He takes pride in the work he’s put in, claiming on Instagram that he placed his value more on his acting chops than the money the movie brought in due to the positive reception he’s received from moviegoers and the MMA community.

“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 — 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,” Johnson wrote. “It was my honor to transform in this role for my director Benny Safdie. Thank you brother for believing in me. Truth is this film has changed my life. With deep gratitude, respect and radical empathy.”

IMAX’s official Instagram handle posted a comment, congratulating ‘The Rock’ for his impressive acting chops. “An absolutely stunning performance,” they said. In response, Dwayne Johnson gave Benny Safdie his flowers for his directorial work, which he claimed was the key for the fans to enjoy their experience watching it in IMAX theatres around the world. “Thank you fam, our boy Benny sure delivered for imax format,” he replied.

Dwayne Johnson literally put his body through a lot to portray Mark Kerr. Not only did he go through a dramatic physical transformation, but the 53-year-old also took a serious hit during the filming of The Smashing Machine, according to the director of the movie.

Benny Safdie revealed ‘The Rock’ took a real hit

The Smashing Machine‘s director revealed that Dwayne Johnson added an astounding 40 pounds to play Mark Kerr. While filming a scene, the Hollywood A-lister needed to take a hit, but Benny Safdie wasn’t sure if the camera would be able to pick up the intensity of a fake punch. But he revealed that Johnson was all game of getting hit for real, but had a few conditions, which included not getting hit in the face.

“DJ said from the beginning, ‘I’m going to have to take it. I’m going to have to get punched… [he told the fighter], ‘Hit me with everything you’ve got; just don’t knock me in the jaw or temple,” Benny Safdie stated on the Impaulsive podcast. Dwayne Johnson spoke about this incident in his interviews as well, claiming that fans can witness the intensity of the punch he took in the trailer of his movie. “There’s a moment in the trailer where I’m on my knees and I look up and I look dazed — that’s real.”

Nobody can control the box office, and Dwayne Johnson has come to terms with it. He’s taken the positives from The Smashing Machine, but the performance of this movie on financial terms does make us wonder if ‘The Rock’ will consider taking up such challenging roles in the future. What do you think? Drop your comments below.