Why The Rock's Social Media Muscle Has Made It The Best Paid Hollywood Actor

Entertainment

"The dominant power of social media is the power of social media," says Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst. at ComScore. For now, The Rock is the only one demanding money for social media in addition to his contract. His teammate Central Intelligence Kevin Hart, pocketed $ 2 million to Sony for tweeting on his own movies and on others years ago, but the overall pay scale of the comedian is still tiny by Johnson. In fact, studios now follow social media monitoring and engagement to make casting decisions.

Nick Graham

Johnson has always had commitment by the ton. He followed his father and grandfather into professional wrestling, borrowing part of his father's name, Rocky Johnson, to become The Rock – a nickname that encapsulates his physique and attitude.

An appearance in 2000 on Saturday Night Live the eye of universal executives, who gave him a cameo in The Mummy Returns in 2001. Impressed, the studio gave his tiny character his own fallout, The Scorpion King which continued to earn More than $ 165 million worldwide on a budget of $ 60 million

After a series of mediocre action movies, then three films of the saccharine family ( Tooth Fairy ), The Rock restarted his career by doubling the strength that first earned him a fan base. "My wrestling past has informed me in terms of having a real connection with an audience," he says. "It must be the audience first, what does the audience want, and what is the best scenario that we can create to send him home happy?"

Such a philosophy of "giving people what they want" not win Oscars, but it will make billions at the box office. According to analysts, Johnson has a high appeal in the four quadrants followed at the multiplex: man, woman, over 25 and under 25.

2010 Getty Images

For studios, it is a reliable coverage against a North American box office that has fallen from 2% in 2017 to 11.1 billion dollars. The international language of blowing does not require translation, and its strong is exactly what is sold abroad. (Over 64% of his box office revenue comes from an international audience.) Thanks to Johnson's Samoan and African-American mixed heritage, his melting-pot look makes him a local hero. worldwide

has increased its business game. Five years ago, along with his ex-wife and manager, Dany Garcia, he launched Seven Bucks Productions, aimed at transforming The Rock from actor to business. When Johnson appears in a movie, Seven Bucks' creative, production, and digital team works on everything from script development to production support and helps guide its promotional rollout. The company also operates a YouTube channel and creates mobile content for Johnson's social media platforms.

"Our very large footprint helps us to execute," says Garcia, a former wealth manager who also runs a talent management company. Productions alongside Johnson. "We would never do anything halfway"

Nick Graham

The impact created stretches Johnson's recommendations, which include Apple and a recently concluded Ford partnership. With the addition of a former director of Droga5, Seven Creative Bucks, a team of two, designed Johnson's Project Rock campaign with Under Armor, in which Johnson has a successful clothing line and a new series of branded headphones. projects where Johnson is not necessarily front and center. "It's our next step," says Garcia. "Let's take ownership, develop properties and look into the properties we can tell." Over the next few years, Seven Bucks will roll out the Janson directive, starring John Cena, a WWE colleague, and Shazam !, a superhero action adventure.

The name Seven Bucks is a joke on the inside. his career when he was cut from the Canadian Football League and arrived in Tampa in October 1995.

2016 Getty Images

"I had a five, a one and a change," he remembers of his net worth, adding that as an optimist, "I've rounded it up to seven. "

Now its net worth is closer to $ 165 million. It's a trip that, he says, puts it on time. "What I've learned from Bob Iger, Disney's CEO, is that when you're going to do something good with global appeal," says Johnson, "it'll take time – a decade, two decades, maybe more. " What will the next two decades look like? Rightly, he speaks like a hashtag: "It's limitless."

Access Natalie Robehmed at [email protected]. Cover image by Michael Prince for Forbes

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Dwayne Johnson squeezes his jaw of granite while he ladles into the distance.A pearl of sweat runs down his forehead before throwing his head into a It's a stifling summer day in Atlanta, and The Rock is about to do what The Rock does best: he licks his lips, delivers his lines with panache and brandishes his imposing frame of 6 feet 5 inches.

Johnson Over the past decade, the 46-year-old former professional wrestler has used his indefatigable charm – the kind that drives him, half-jokingly, to to pose as a potential presidential candidate – to become The largest part of his gains of $ 124 million is the largest ever recorded in 20 years Forbes followed the Celebrity 100 and almost double the 65 million dollars that he earned in 2017.

"The first goal, "says Johnson, sitting in his air-conditioned caravan, dressed in a blue polka dot shirt and jeans. In other words, ubiquity. Besides a flood of movies, there's his hit HBO series, Ballers and one of the most astute strategies on social media. On Instagram, where he has more than 108 million followers, he delivers inspirational videos of himself speaking directly on his iPhone, often in his traveling gym. 13 million Twitter followers and 58 million Facebook followers present film trailers, show Johnson in development meetings and celebrate his stack of "cheat" pancakes, all decorated with multiple hashtags and millions of likes.

Video Here TK

He is now the pioneer of a new way to take advantage of this digital fame. In addition to the big initial gains of $ 20 million and studio profit cuts, starting with the July 19459004 skyscraper in which he plays a former chief of the FBI hostage rescue, he will insist on seven others – figure out the social media fees with each movie in which it appears, according to people familiar with its offers. In other words, rather than requiring the studios to pay money in TV commercials or billboards, their new paid marketing channel serves as an advisor. star star

Evan Agostini / Invision / AP

"Social media has become the most critical element of marketing for me a movie," says Johnson. "I've established a social media equity with an audience around the world to say that what I give them is valuable."

Johnson still does the circuit of talk shows, press tours and other promotional tasks expected of stars (especially when the real money comes from the box office back office). But by stipulating that social media are separate platforms that require separate fees, Johnson is trying to set a Hollywood precedent.

For The Rock, at least, the studios seem to have accepted this arrangement: The promotional expenses on a tentpole movie climb above 150 million dollars and still do not guarantee a blockbuster. List A actors who quote their fan base believe that studios could promote a new film in a less expensive and more targeted way.

"The dominant power of social media is the power of social media," says Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst. at ComScore. For now, The Rock is the only one demanding money for social media in addition to his contract. His teammate Central Intelligence Kevin Hart, pocketed $ 2 million to Sony for tweeting on his own movies and on others years ago, but the overall pay scale of the comedian is still tiny by Johnson. In fact, studios now follow social media monitoring and engagement to make casting decisions.

Nick Graham

Johnson has always had commitment by the ton. He followed his father and grandfather into professional wrestling, borrowing part of his father's name, Rocky Johnson, to become The Rock – a nickname that encapsulates his physique and attitude.

An appearance in 2000 on Saturday Night Live the eye of universal executives, who gave him a cameo in The Mummy Returns in 2001. Impressed, the studio gave his tiny character his own fallout, The Scorpion King which continued to earn More than $ 165 million worldwide on a budget of $ 60 million

After a series of mediocre action movies, then three films of the saccharine family ( Tooth Fairy ), The Rock restarted his career by doubling the strength that first earned him a fan base. "My wrestling past has informed me in terms of having a real connection with an audience," he says. "It must be the audience first, what does the audience want, and what is the best scenario that we can create to send him home happy?"

Such a philosophy of "giving people what they want" not win Oscars, but it will make billions at the box office. According to analysts, Johnson has a high appeal in the four quadrants followed at the multiplex: man, woman, over 25 and under 25.

2010 Getty Images

For studios, it is a reliable coverage against a North American box office that has fallen from 2% in 2017 to 11.1 billion dollars. The international language of blowing does not require translation, and its strong is exactly what is sold abroad. (Over 64% of his box office revenue comes from an international audience.) Thanks to Johnson's Samoan and African-American mixed heritage, his melting-pot look makes him a local hero. worldwide

has increased its business game. Five years ago, along with his ex-wife and manager, Dany Garcia, he launched Seven Bucks Productions, aimed at transforming The Rock from actor to business. When Johnson appears in a movie, Seven Bucks' creative, production, and digital team works on everything from script development to production support and helps guide its promotional rollout. The company also operates a YouTube channel and creates mobile content for Johnson's social media platforms.

"Our very large footprint helps us to execute," says Garcia, a former wealth manager who also runs a talent management company. Productions alongside Johnson. "We would never do anything halfway"

Nick Graham

The impact created extends to Johnson's endorsements, which include Apple and a recently concluded Ford partnership. With the addition of a former director of Droga5, Seven Creative Bucks, a team of two, designed Johnson's Project Rock campaign with Under Armor, in which Johnson has a successful clothing line and a new series of branded headphones. projects where Johnson is not necessarily front and center. "It's our next step," says Garcia. "Let's take ownership, develop properties and look into the properties we can tell." Over the next few years, Seven Bucks will roll out the Janson directive, starring John Cena, a WWE colleague, and Shazam !, a superhero action adventure.

The name Seven Bucks is a joke on the inside. his career, when he was cut from the Canadian Football League and arrived in Tampa in October 1995.

Disney "Moana" grossed nearly 240 million dollars at the box office; Dwayne Johnson starred in the animated feature film as a demi-god Maui.

"I had a five, a one and a change," he remembers of his net worth, adding that as an optimist, "I've rounded it up to seven. "

Now its net worth is closer to $ 165 million. It's a trip that, he says, puts it on time. "What I've learned from Bob Iger is that when you're going to do something good with global appeal," says Johnson, "it's going to take time – a decade, two decades, maybe more." What will the next two decades look like? Rightly, he speaks like a hashtag: "It's limitless."

Access Natalie Robehmed at [email protected]. Cover image of Michael Prince for Forbes.