Disney‘s live-action Moana is out now and performing poorly. Following yet another rough outing, Dwayne Johnson could look to revitalize his career in a number of ways.
Moana has had a surprisingly disappointing box office return. As of this week, the movie has earned just $43 million, a disastrous return considering the film’s $250 million budget. The movie is yet another flop of a Disney live-action remakes. Furthermore, it’s another film led by Johnson that has performed poorly.
Just a few years ago, it was a given fact that Johnson was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. As of late, though, the star has seen his box office prospect dwindle a bit. Following outings in movies like Jungle Cruise, Red Notice, and Black Adam, Johnson has had a four year run of movies underperforming on a grand scale at the box office. The man is still a star, though, and could look at several different ways of pivoting to fix his current slump.
Dwayne Johnson has a few possible moves after Moana’s struggles at the box office
For starters, Johnson could lean further into what he seemed to be doing with 2025’s The Smashing Machine. The star’s role in the Benny Safdie project seemed to signal a turn for Johnson, and mark a new era for the actor. While that movie didn’t perform well, Johnson’s role was praised as one of his best in years. For Johnson, it would be smart to get back into that “serious actor” mode and showcase his range beyond just a blockbuster star.
Speaking of blockbusters, Johnson should also take a page out of some other high-profile stars and be a bit more selective in his roles going forward. Johnson has been no stranger to starring in some surprising movies. While his star power used to carry those to great box office returns, the movies themselves have devalued Johnson’s perceived brand. Now, when folks think of the star, they no longer think of blockbuster smash hits. In order to fix that, the star could become much more selective and take a deeper look at roles before committing to a project.
If all else fails, Johnson could also return to the place where he is a de facto legend and take a trip to the wrestling ring. Johnson’s career in WWE as The Rock is solidified, and he’s occasionally returned to large fanfare over the years. His most recent return, when he turned John Cena into a bad guy, was praised, but ended in disgrace as Johnson stopped appearing and Cena’s heel turn ended in a fizzle instead of a bang. Still, if Johnson does return, fans would no doubt be happy about it, especially if they finally get to witness him go up against his family member Roman Reigns. It might not help his box office status, but would definitely put him back in the news in a positive light.
