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People often remember 2005’sDoomas the worst film in actor Dwayne Johnson’s filmography, however, there was another major flop beforeDoomthat Johnson starred in:Southland Tales. Released in 2006, this movie was a satiric commentary on the military-industrial complex and the infotainment industry. The film featured Johnson in the lead role alongside Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore, and Justin Timberlake, but all these stars failed to fill up the theatres as the film didn’t even cross the $400,000 mark.
At the time, Johnson was popular because of his WWE days, however, the film’s massive failure had his fans concerned about his Hollywood career. Despite these setbacks, Johnson went on to establish himself as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, all thanks to his determination and talent.
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The worst performing film in Dwayne Johnson’s filmography:Southland Tales(2006)
There is no doubt that actorDwayne Johnsonhad a good start in Hollywood. With the role of The Scorpion King in 2001’sThe Mummy Returns, Johnson quickly became a well-known name in the industry. The actor then appeared in a few more movies, but then came his worst-performing movie,Southland Tales(2006).
Directed by Richard Kelly, the film was released theatrically in the United States on June 21, 2025, and only made $374,743 during its international theatrical run, making it the worst-performing movie in Johnson’s filmography. With its budget of $17 million, it proved to be a financial loss for Universal Studios.
Also read:Dwayne Johnson May Use His $800M Fame to Convince Americans to Join the Military
Dwayne Johnson recalled the humiliation
The film premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was instantly scrutinized by the critics. People walked out of the premier and journalists were left confused, making it a massive disaster. In a 2019 interview withIndieWire, Johnson recalled the tragic day,
“When the screening ended, we were all on our Blackberries at that time, and our publicists were, like, sweating – We had to walk from there directly to our press conference. We sit down in the press conference and someone was like, ‘They f**king hated the movie. So just be prepared.’ But we had to be there for another three hours. So we sit down and the first question, I’ll never forget, is a journalist standing up and saying, ‘I’ve got to be honest with you, I’ve never seen so many people walking out of a movie. What was it about this movie?'”
Despite some setbacks in the mid-2000s, Johnson was able to redeem himself, especially with his performance in theJumanjiandFast & Furiousfranchises. Today, his films have grossed over $12.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the most successful and highest-grossing box-office stars of all time.
Related:Jimmy Fallon’s Wild Prank Had Dwayne Johnson Worried About His Own Mother’s Whereabouts
Farhan Asif
Articles Published :1696
Farhan Asif is a gaming writer at FandomWire who specializes in video games/franchises like Helldivers 2, GTA, and Call of Duty. Apart from 1600+ published articles for FandomWire, he has also written more than 750 articles for AnimatedTimes. He has a passion for coding and is pursuing a degree in computer science. During his free time, Farhan loves to play video games and hopes to create a video game of his own one day.
