A24’s ‘The Iron Claw’ Destroys Dwayne Johnson’s Wrestling Movie at the Box Office With Over Ten Times the Earnings on Opening Day

Hollywood megastar Dwayne Johnson is known for his Midas touch. All the projects that he has worked on are known as massive blockbuster hits. At least, that’s what fans thought. Recently, the Zac Efron starrer pro wrestling biopic Iron Claw made its way to theaters. It might be safe to say that Iron Claw was able to pin the Johnson-produced wrestling biopic Fighting With My Family from 2019.

How Zac Efron pinned Dwayne Johnson

Zac Efron’s Iron Claw made its way to theaters on December 22, 2023. Fans and critics loved the movie that is based on the Von Erich family. The movie tells the tragic story of how the wrestling family suffered as many members unexpectedly passed away at an early age. Almost 2,700 theaters worldwide screened the A24-produced movie. The global box office collection of the movie on its opening day was approximately $2.4 million.

A few years ago, fans saw another wrestling biopic. On February 14, 2019, Seven Bucks Production’s Fighting with My Family was released in theaters. The drama-comedy-biopic was based on the journey of  Saraya Bevis famously known as Paige from WWE. The movie that starred Florence Pugh in the leading role was well received by fans. However, it did fall short somewhere.

The late addition to the Sundance Film Festival in 2019 had staggeringly low numbers in its opening weeks. According to reports, the film grossed a total of $131,000 in the initial three days of its release. After its fourth day run, the collection estimate was up to $161,000 . The film grossed a total of $41.5 million in its entire lifetime.

One thing that needs to be considered about the Paige biopic is that it was released in just four theaters in its initial run. Compared to that, the Zac Efron-starrer was released on more than 2,000 screens, aiding its blockbuster status. But another thing that is worth mentioning is the fact that the two movies received different Motion Pictures of America ratings.

The Florence Pugh movie received a PG-13 rating. On the other hand, Iron Claw was given an M or Mature rating. This was done as various distressing themes were portrayed in the movie. The PG-13 rating usually works in favor of the studios as it helps in widening their audience window. On the other hand, a mature rating restricts the audience from watching a movie. However, the parental guidance rating did not work in favor of Fighting with My Family.

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The movie also received mediocre praise as the director of the biopic Stephen Merchant delivered a lackluster movie. According to critics, The Office and Hello Ladies’ co-creator fell short of making a movie as impactful as his television shows. While Johnson is set to collaborate with A24 for another biopic, do you think he will pin Zac Efron this time?

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