Christopher Nolan is weighing in on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s latest film, The Smashing Machine, which is underperforming at the box office and he is showing his support for Johnson.
Nolan recently appeared on an episode of The Director’s Cut podcast with Smashing Machine director Benny Safdie, who was in Oppenheimer, which won Nolan his first best director Oscar. During the discussion, Nolan praised Johnson’s performance as “heartbreaking.”
“I think it’s an incredible performance,” Nolan continued. “I don’t think you’ll see a better performance this year or most other years.”
In the film, Johnson plays MMA fighter Mark Kerr, and it follows his personal struggles with addiction and his relationship with his wife, Dawn (Emily Blunt), while he’s at the height of his career. The role was a dramatic turn for Johnson, and had early awards season buzz until audiences snubbed the film.
Even though the movie, released on Oct. 3, won Safdie the best director prize at the Venice Film Festival, received solid reviews and currently has a 71 percent critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it has earned $10 million domestically so far. The film cost $50 million to produce.
After its first weekend at the box office, Johnson took to social media to react to the outcome. “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,” he wrote. “And I will always run to that opportunity.”
However, despite this, Nolan shared his predictions for the film with Safdie. “It’s a really remarkable and radical piece of work that will be understood more and more over time,” Nolan said. “I’m very proud to know you.”
