Despite a rocky year, Dwayne Johnson is reportedly the highest-paid actor in Hollywood
Apparently, Dwayne Johnson is Hollywood’s most expensive (and lucrative) add-on
Aux News Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson has had a rough go of it. His long con to punch Superman in the face, Black Adam, was a bust, leading to one of the worst public relations nightmares of his career. There’s nothing sadder than a 10-time WWE champion explaining to reply guys on Twitter that, actually, Black Adam was a hit thanks to some financial gymnastics. As a result, he had to come crawling back to Vin “Candy Ass” Diesel for another ride with Hobbs And Shaw. Then, his very own self-mythologizing TV show, Young Rock, was canceled. But, in the end, we’d kill for a lousy year like Dwayne Johnson—he’s about to become the highest-paid actor in Hollywood.
Per Puck, Amazon reportedly paid The Rock $50 million for the upcoming holiday movie Red One, starring Johnson and Chris Evans. No, this isn’t a sequel to Red Notice, which Netflix says is the most-watched movie in the platform’s history even though no one remembers seeing or hearing about it. A Red Notice sequel is coming, apparently—or maybe it came out years ago. There’s simply no way to tell.
The Rock’s $50 million payday would make him the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, overtaking Robert Downey Jr.’s $40 million Captain America: Civil War salary. At least that movie had the possibility of recouping the massive payout. Red One will stream on Amazon Prime, where money means nothing, and Jeff Bezos can pay the Rock $50 million for a Santa Claus-themed action-comedy.
The Rock’s status as a box office heavyweight is a little complicated. As The Direct notes, the actor’s films have grossed $12.5 billion. However, in most cases, he bolsters and firms up an already star-studded ensemble, making jokes with Kevin Hart and body-slamming Jason Statham. To say nothing of the one-two punch of Skyscraper and Rampage in 2018, when it comes to his last few solo outings (Jungle Cruise and Black Adam), the Rock has struggled to justify his $22 million paycheck.
Luckily, Amazon doesn’t have to worry about making its money back. The conglomerate has a reputation for sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into projects with the cultural staying power of a sneeze. Here, Amazon wants to be in The Rock business and will pay through the nose to get there, even if that means another movie with “Red” in the title that feels like it already came out six years ago.
If there’s any consolation, it’s this: The Rock’s character in Red One is reportedly named “Callum Drift.” We take it all back. This movie is going to rock.
6 Comments
Is he going to fight his cousin Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania or what?
congratulations to the rock on being one of the best businessmen in hollywood history.
“10-time WWE champion”
You say this as if it’s an accomplishment rather than just following the script.
Although the next wrestlemania isn’t until next year in April, I’m sure WWE really is now wanting to do something with him as soon as possible. WWE is one of the few companies that likes the strike happening and wanting to push their product since it doesn’t affect them. Even though I’m sure they’re hoping the strike doesn’t end until after April of next year, they would be happy for it to last long enough through September. It would allow them to negotiate with the Rock to do something for them during the Royal Rumble.
Is this a good look during the actor’s strike?? Isn’t a big issue select individuals getting paid significantly higher salaries…?
It’s because he becomes so immersed in his character for each movie he’s in…himself, in real life, pretending to be himself in a movie