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
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.