What can’t he do? Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson pushed Jungle Cruise to a gigantic opening weekend this past week. Disney’s newest effort saw incredible growth over the weekend, unlike any competitive movies this summer. From Friday, July 30, to Saturday, July 31, Disney saw a 15 percent growth.
Johnson, 49, is the most followed American in the world on his combined social platforms. The former wrestler used his incredible reach to build a campaign for the new film. The Hobbs and Shaw actor shared multiple daily posts on his robust social media channels and gave the world a peek into some hilarious and not-so-Disney-like bloopers featuring costar Emily Blunt. Johnson even parked his Teremana Tequila “Mana Mobile” truck to feed everyone in Disney for free!
Throughout the summer, the highest expected blockbuster releases — Fast 9, Black Widow and Space Jam 2 —experienced large viewings on Fridays followed by massive, double-digit weekend drops. Yet, amidst the growing theater hesitation around the pandemic, Disney’s Jungle Cruise served as the summer anomaly, demonstrating unprecedented growth and momentum throughout the weekend that shocked the industry.
Through Johnson’s tireless efforts, cheeky campaign and massive Instagram presence — Johnson has more than 370 million followers you can bet the audience will create a word-of-mouth weekend frenzy no one at Disney was prepared for! The top grossing actor in the world is simply unstoppable and Disney’s Jungle Cruise is living proof.
