Dwayne Johnson Is Hollywood’s Highest Paid Actor Again, And He Has Social Media To Thank For It

The Rock in Jumanji

There's no arguing that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is one of the busiest and most successful people in Hollywood. The wrestler turned actor/producer has become extremely busy in the past few years, and is always working on a few projects at once. The Rock has been cooking up so much content, that he's actually the highest paid actor in Hollywood, according to the latest Forbes report. While this is an honor Johnson has had before, he recently spoke to his secret weapon: social media. As The Rock tells it,

Social media has become the most critical element of marketing a movie for me. I have established a social media equity with an audience around the world that there's a value in what I'm delivering to them.

Anyone who follows Dwayne Johnson on social media will know that the former wrestler is always plugging his various projects. As both a producer and Hollywood's most swoll leading man, he seems to always be on set or promoting a blockbuster or his HBO series Ballers. Aside from adding free publicity and helping The Rock gain more followers, it seems his constant social media posting has actually helped the box office performance of his projects. That, and make him even more bankable in upcoming movies.

The Rock's comments to Forbes show how methodically the actor has been using social media to further his career. Dwayne Johnson has been a public figure since he hit the small screen as a wrestler, and has accrued a strong following by sheer willpower and work ethic. While he might not be an Oscar contender like Tom Hanks, The Rock has become the go-to figure in entertainment movies. Social media is part of this, as he shares behind the scenes updates from the set of movies like Jumanji: Welcome to The Jungle or The Fate of The Furious.

It should be no surprise that Dwayne Johnson is once again the highest paid actor in Hollywood, given his involvement in so many massively expensive action flicks. Over the past few years he's starred and produced in Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, Rampage, Skyscraper, The Fate Of The Furious, and Baywatch. And aside from HBO's Billions, he's got a ton of more upcoming projects. These include Jungle Cruise, Hobbs and Shaw, Jumanji 3, and Black Adam. The latter may push Johnson toward yet another record, as he plays DC's villain, and finally makes his debut in a comic book property.

While Dwayne Johnson is likely celebrating being Forbes' highest paid actor, his most recent blockbuster is a bit of a flop. Despite a cool concept and supporting characters like Neve Campbell, Skyscraper failed to make money during its first weekend at the box office. And with a budget of $129 million, the pressure is on for the film to at least recoup its investment.

You can catch Dwayne Johnson in Skyscraper, in theaters now. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.