Action star Dwayne Johnson has many laurels to his credit. Formerly a wrestling champion, the star then forayed into Hollywood where his larger-than-life image lit up the silver screen in films like The Scorpion King, GI Joe: Retaliation, and The Fast and the Furious franchise. The muscled actor was also the highest-paid celebrity in Hollywood in 2022 according to The Forbes list of top earners. Johnson, also known by his wrestling name “The Rock”, landed another big payday when he was cast for the titular role in DC’s Black Adam. The film unfortunately did not set the box office on fire and received lukewarm responses from critics and fans across the world. But the failure of the film has been attributed to not just the script but Dwayne Johnson himself.
Dwayne Johnson’s Ego Came In The Way of The Film’s Success
With Black Adam failing to make an impact at the box office, there have been many speculations about the reasons for its mediocre reception among audiences. While many critics and fans blamed it on a flawed script, a Hollywood executive who chose to remain anonymous claimed that the problem started and ended with Dwayne Johnson. According to him,
“Dwayne tries to sell himself as bigger than the movie. He’s one of the few people who always thinks he’s the most important person in any situation or room.”
While The Rock has been responsible for singlehandedly giving a film its blockbuster status, he is also known to have a reputation for clashing with co-stars on an ensemble film like The Fast and the Furious, where he allegedly had ego tussles with Vin Diesel.
What Else Went Wrong With Black Adam?
Leaving aside Dwayne Johnson’s alleged high-handedness, Black Adam was also criticized for its flawed script that left DC fans wanting more. Many DC buffs felt that the plot involving the citizens of Kahndaq was underdeveloped and did not rightfully show their suffering as victims of colonization. Hence, the presence of a superhero like Black Adam to save the day did not make the necessary impact. With these characters not fleshed out adequately, the film failed to connect with the public.
Another dampener to the success of the film involved Dwayne Johnson once again. The Jumanji 2 actor and his team were allegedly accused of leaking information to a reputed news reporting site about the profitability of Black Adam as a way to counter the losses of previous DC films that didn’t fare well. Warner Brothers claimed that this information had many false assumptions that were not supported by the Studio or the DC Franchise in any way. All these incidents ultimately added up to Black Adam’s lukewarm response at the theaters.
Source: CBR
