The Rock’s Forgotten $2 Billion Franchise Will Fix His Box Office Spiral (Not Just Fast & Furious)

A $2 billion dollar franchise we seem to forget about will help restore Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s unfortunate luck within box offices.

The $2 billion Jumanji franchise is a significant addition to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s acting catalog, and it could become a saving grace for his recent box office problems. Johnson has been a staple figure in entertainment since his professional wrestling career made him a household name. When Johnson is involved, it usually makes for an amusingly entertaining and adrenaline-fueled experience.

His transition into an acting career began with efforts in notable box office hits such as the memorable role in The Mummy Returns and spinoff The Scorpion King, early 2000 performances in The Game Plan and Tooth Fairy, and of course, his role in the Fast & Furious franchise. In recent times, however, Dwayne Johnson’s movies just haven’t had the same impact at the box office, placing him in an unfortunate career slump. When Johnson is involved in projects now, there is a particular uncertainty about whether his movies will be hits or misses.

The Rock’s Box Office Slump Explained

Dwayne Johnson as Frank in Jungle Cruise

Pointing out Johnson’s box office downward spiral doesn’t mean he’s incapable of bringing in money for his film endeavors. His name alone is enough to trickle in audiences despite the subject of the film or the manner of his role – the problem is that his chosen roles, especially his solo ones unsupported by an ensemble cast, never get big enough to create a demand to sustain the film/franchise, to cover the costs of production, or some mix of both. At least recently, his charismatic persona doesn’t translate to financial success.

Many of Johnson’s recent movies have made money – just not enough to be considered successful. For instance, Johnson’s Black Adam is considered a failure for not generating enough clout to revive the DC Universe and failing to make a considerable profit off of its $190 – $265 million budget. Similarly, Johnson’s Jungle Cruise followed the tendency toward lackluster box office performance and failed to hit its aspirations as a $200 million film, despite critical the response being generally positive. His current endeavors seem to fall just shy of success, and are quick to be called box office failures when compared to his performance history and competitors in the market.

Jumanji 4 Could Be Bigger For The Rock’s Box Office Than Fast & Furious

Dwayne Johnson with cast in Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle

While the actor’s box office saving grace is presumed by some to be Johnson’s return to the Fast & Furious franchise, his return to box office power may come from somewhere else. His surprise cameo in 2023’s Fast X marks his rebound into multi-million dollar territory guaranteed to impress the box office and even teases that his presence in an eleventh Fast & Furious installment and/or a spinoff featuring his Fast character Hobbs could restore his movie success. That being said, the often-overlooked Jumanji franchise could feasibly and easily overtake Fast & Furious’ predicted box office successes with a fourth Jumanji movie.

The sequel films to the 1995 original, starring Johnson, has a record of dominating in theaters. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle made just shy of $1 billion, while Jumanji: The Next Level followed closely behind with $800 million worldwide. Numbers like that suggest that the Jumanji franchise can surpass Fast & Furious at the box office with Jumanji 4. Crucially, given that Johnson is the face of Jumanji, a potential fourth installment would be a bona fide Rock-led renaissance, instead of the Fast & Furious ensemble. As such, Jumanji has the potential to be bigger for Johnson personally.