Ranking Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s 5 Best Movies

Since semi-retiring from WWE in 2003, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has become one of the world’s (literally) biggest movie stars. Here are his 5 best performances.

As 2016 draws to a close, it is fitting that we look back at the year had by professional wrestling’s biggest success story. It is hard to find a better rags to riches story than the one lived by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who often tells the story about having “seven bucks” in his pocket and using that sobering reality as motivation to achieve his dreams. Several decades after that moment of clarity, The Rock has earned his place among both WWE and Hollywood royalty.

Even before he stepped foot on a film set, The Rock had a rabid following of both hardcore and casual professional wrestling fans. His signature phrases and mannerisms stormed into pop culture and cemented his legacy as a certified icon of the sports entertainment industry. Undoubtedly, some people in and out of the business were wary about his transition from squared circle to celluloid since many before him had tried and failed.

Since 2009, Johnson has starred in over two dozen movies, almost all of which have found box office pay dirt. Whenever a film studio needs to revitalize a waning franchise, all they need to do is call up The Rock. His appearances are Fast Five, G.I. Joe Retaliation and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island all led to those films doing considerably well with audiences, earning Johnson the apt title of “Franchise Viagra”.

Lest you think Rock is only a supporting character, he has proven his mettle as a leading man on more than one occasion. He took a starring role in San Andreas, a big budget generic disaster movie in the same vein as Volcano or 2012. Despite a wholly unoriginal concept, people flocked to the theaters to watch The Rock save his loved ones from Mother Nature to the tune of nearly $500 million around the world. His most recent film, Moana, spent 3 weeks at the top spot in United States theaters before being overtaken by another Disney property; Rouge One. With other projects on the horizon such as Baywatch, Jumanji, Fast 8, and Journey 3 all in various stages of production, Johnson is set to make both audiences and studio executives extremely happy.

Johnson’s first dive into action films was a cameo in the 2001 film, The Mummy Returns which led to a starring role in a spinoff/origin story of his character from that film as The Scorpion King in 2002. The film grossed over $165 million worldwide, and its $36 million opening weekend was Johnson’s biggest as a leading man until San Andreas. Since 2002, Rock has appeared in a total of 28 films. The following five movies represent the best of his resume.