There was a time when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson could do no wrong. Having conquered the world of pro wrestling, he quickly established himself as a Hollywood A-Lister and was widely credited with saving the struggling Fast & Furious franchise.
Few of Johnson's movies have been critical darlings, but the vast majority have been crowd-pleasing box office hits. In 2022, Black Adam was meant to launch a new DCEU revolving around the actor; instead, it flopped, and things haven't gone particularly well for him since.
His missteps range from the XFL's struggles to Young Rock's cancellation and the way he was rejected by many WWE fans this year (his return, which saw him attempt to take Cody Rhodes' place at WrestleMania, remains the most disliked YouTube video in the company's history).
The Rock is still incredibly successful, of course, and plans to take on his first true serious role with A24's The Smashing Machine. However, his latest big budget effort, Red One, has proven to be another critical and commercial let-down.
Perhaps that's why a new IMAX featurette is receiving so much attention on social media.
In the video, Johnson says that a screening of Oppenheimer - which saw The Rock sit specifically in Christopher Nolan's seat - left him with the belief that, should his upcoming movie Red One use the same technology, it could be "game over."
"With ‘Red One,’ our intention was to make a movie that you can enjoy on the biggest screen possible," he says. "Legitimately the biggest screens possible are Imax. I was midway through shooting 'Red One' and I had an opportunity to see 'Oppenheimer.' I watched in the IMAX theater where Christopher Nolan watches and screens his movies."
"Him and Emma [Thomas], his wife. I even asked to let me sit where Chris sits. They said, 'Chris sits here.' I watch 'Oppenheimer.' It was amazing, but I was thinking: 'Holy shit. 'Red One' on this screen and with this technology could be game over,'" Johnson continued. "I remember texting [director Jake Kasdan] a picture of my bare chest and a picture of the screen and we realized how cool [IMAX] would be."
While you try and figure out why Johnson sent Kasdan a photo of his bare chest, we'll remind you that Red One's budget was $250 million...and it only made $26 million at the international box office this past weekend. It's eyeing a soft $20 million haul in North America and has 35% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here are The Rock's comments in full along with some of the best reactions to those on social media.