Hollywood is in for a major shock as the two most anticipated blockbusters of the year — one starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and one starring Leonardo DiCaprio — both failed miserably at the global box office, despite production budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars. The names that were once “guaranteed revenues” have now made investors nervous, and audiences surprisingly indifferent. What has caused these two legends to lose the appeal that once rocked the box office for more than a decade?
According to industry sources, The Rock’s action film, which cost more than $250 million and was heavily promoted across platforms, has only earned less than $100 million after two weeks of release. Meanwhile, the crime-drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio, despite being directed by a famous name and highly appreciated for its art, has only achieved dismal revenue, even falling far behind its smaller competitors.
A Los Angeles film critic commented:
“Both The Rock and DiCaprio are facing an image crisis. They are no longer as popular as before, partly because they have abused their fame, and partly because they have made the public lose faith.”
Specifically, many fans believe that The Rock has “over-commercialized himself”, constantly appearing in similar action movies, with outdated and uncreative scripts. He has been criticized for only caring about revenue, advertising and personal branding, instead of film quality.
As for Leonardo DiCaprio, although he is still highly regarded for his acting ability, young audiences no longer seem to feel connected to his image. Many controversies surrounding the actor’s personal life – especially his frequent dating of young models – have made some audiences believe that DiCaprio is “out of step” in the new era.
On social media, many comments said that this failure came not only from the quality of the film, but also from the way the two stars treated the audience in the past. One user wrote:
“They used to deliberately ignore feedback from viewers, thinking that just by attaching their names to the film, it would be a big hit. Now everything is different, the audience is no longer as easily led as before.”
Another reason mentioned is the changing trend of the market. After the pandemic, viewers tend to choose works that are creative, new or associated with real emotions. Meanwhile, The Rock and DiCaprio’s projects are more focused on “A-list stars” than on attractive content.
Hollywood financial experts predict that if the situation does not change, these two blockbusters could cause the film studio to lose a total of more than 400 million USD, becoming a “financial stain” in the careers of both actors.
It is worth noting that both The Rock and DiCaprio have avoided public comment on the box office results. This silence has made the public even more curious: have they realized that their glory days are over, and now it is time for a change?
However, there are still loyal fans hoping that this is just a “temporary setback” before they come back stronger. But clearly, with two names that once made the entire film world bow, this consecutive failure is a clear warning that today’s audiences no longer buy tickets just for fame – but for real emotions on screen.
