There has been a lot of recent discussion about which stars can still open a movie. It seems like studios are relying on franchises/genres rather than actors for a film’s success. So, where have all the “movie stars” gone? There’s at least one still on the theaters – Dwayne The Rock Johnson. Dwayne’s latest offering is Rampage, a huge action film based on the 1986 arcade game. The film was not expected to do well because of the Video Game Movie Curse plus most critics don’t like it. Then how did it end up ranking #1 at the box office, overtaking Certified Fresh A Quiet Place? Variety argues it’s all because of The Rock.

After back and forth projections showed “Rampage” wrestling with “A Quiet Place” to see who would come out on top at the box office last weekend, there is one main reason the video game adaptation secured the crown: Dwayne Johnson.

“It’s good old star power at work here,” box office analyst Jeff Bock said. “There’s not that many people in this day and age who can pull this off.”

Did Johnson break the video game adaptation curse? Probably not. Did his sheer star power push “Rampage” to the No. 1 spot at the worldwide box office? It seems likely.

“Rampage” bowed with $34.5 million in North America, along with an impressive $114 million overseas for a global total of $148.6 million. In China alone, the sci-fi fantasy made $55 million.

“If it’s anybody else in this film, it would tank. It would be lucky to get to $20 million if Dwayne Johnson wasn’t in in,” Bock said. “It gives you an idea of his power at the box office.”

It’s been a while since a tried and true movie star’s name has landed a movie alone. “That used to be reserved for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone,” Bock said.

That’s where Johnson steps in.

“He’s a global draw unlike anybody else today,” Jeff Goldstein, head of domestic distribution at Warner Bros., said.

Johnson’s massive overseas following definitely plays a big part in the global success of his films.

“Domestic is important, but not as important as it once was,” Bock said. “That number out of China is outstanding. $55 million? You combine Dwayne Johnson and giant monsters — that’s exactly why the film was greenlit, for China.”

[From Variety]

Who could get you to go to a theater? The article cites other actors like Leonardo Di Caprio, Melissa McCarthy and Robert Downey, Jr. as people who can open a movie but I’m not sure even they can. Obviously, as the article said, this movie’s success was relying on the overseas market – and they got it. But something Jeff Bock said in the article is that part of the reason we still flock to The Rock’s movies is because, “He owns every good movie and every bad movie. Audiences like that.” I think that’s a big part of it. He is wholly committed to entertaining us and in turn, gives us permission to be entertained by some really base stuff.

Can you imagine what it will mean for Dwayne’s asking price is he’s the last Movie Star standing? And this is very important, to me at least, because the article closes with a quote from Bock in which he said about Dwayne, “He could easily win the presidency as well. That’s easy. Being a true blockbuster movie star, that’s difficult.” I think Bock was joking but we can all see the underlying truth there. So let’s hope Dwayne’s not willing to take the pay cut if he did take the job.

The photos are from the film’s London premiere. Here are DJ, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I love Naomie’s pants but nothing else really does anything for me.

Photo credit: WENN Phots