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A Strange Career Phase
At present, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appears to be weathering a very strange and unclear period in his career. Ever since the poor result of Black Adam in 2022, everything doesn’t look to go his way. The superhero film failed to do well at the box office, however, the way Johnson reacted to the situation was not in a manner of acknowledging the loss but as if it was a win. The decision caused different reactions among fans and industry watchers, with many expressing their disappointment leading to a significant loss of respect for him that he had carefully built up over the years.
The once upon a time most loved and bankable actor across the globe, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has now been seen fighting hard not to lose his reputation in recent times. To make matters worse, there have also been negative reports floating around about unprofessional and unhygienic behavior on set, which only further chipped away at his polished public image. These developments may not completely fix his image, but they do suggest that not all is lost, and there’s still a path forward for redemption.
Before he was famous, had billion-dollar franchises, and was a star in action figure, The Rock was spending time creating his name with a series of modest action thrillers that aimed to establish him in Hollywood. These were not the blockbuster hits he will later be known for, but these were the ones which played the most important role in his transition from wrestling ring to movie set. In recent years, some of these early, ignored films have found a spot in the spotlight and making a surprising return. One example is a forgotten action flop from Johnson that found a second life when it started trending.
A Director with Grit
Snitch was directed by Ric Roman Waugh, a filmmaker with a rugged, hands-on background that includes working as a stuntman before stepping into the director’s chair. His earlier films have been recently discovered, such as Universal Soldier and The Crow, and that gave him a tough and wiry appearance that was absolutely suitable for the realistic and sparking action stories. Afterward, Waugh helmed such projects as Angel Has Fallen, a Gerard Butler-led action franchise, and Greenland, a disaster movie that was not only offering something more thoughtful but was also praised for its emotional and unconventional approach to the genre.
So, pairing him with The Rock for a crime thriller seemed like a promising move. On paper, it was a combination that made sense: a physically imposing lead with action chops and a director who understands how to make action feel real and personal. Now, more than a decade later, Snitch is getting another shot at finding an audience—this time through the free streaming platform Tubi. Viewers have recently rediscovered the film, pushing it into the streamer’s charts and giving it a new wave of relevance it never quite had.
Although this small success won’t reverse the recent troubles plaguing Johnson’s career, it does represent a tiny but meaningful win. It suggests that people are still curious about his past work, even if his newer projects have struggled to find the same love. In some ways, it’s a reminder that even during rocky times, there’s value in revisiting the foundations of a career that was once bulletproof. The fact that people are choosing to watch Snitch—a lesser-known title from a very different era of The Rock’s filmography—could indicate that audiences are still willing to engage with him, maybe not in the way they used to.
Plot with Punch
Snitch brings an intense and emotionally charged storyline to the screen, drawing its inspiration from the real-life experiences of DEA informant James Settembrino. The movie has Dwayne Johnson playing John Matthews, a loving dad who is suddenly dragged into the dangerous underworld of drug smuggling. His teenage son, Jason, played by Rafi Gavron, was caught with drugs and thus sentenced to jail. The only way to save him from prison and reduce his term is for his dad to go on an undercover mission for the DEA. His shoulders heavily laden with this huge burden, John takes the risk of being apprehended or killed just to get into the cartel and bring down the network.
This plot alone is sufficient to attract the audience, as it intertwines the touch of feelings with high-risk action, and the spectators have the opportunity to observe The Rock replace his typical invincible action-hero character with a more relatable, defenseless. Although Snitch didn’t make a massive splash during its original theatrical run, the film is proving that it’s not ready to fade into obscurity—at least not on Tubi. Since being added to the free streaming service on March 1, 2025, the movie has been performing surprisingly well with viewers.
According to FlixPatrol, a site known for tracking viewership data across streaming platforms, Snitch has been putting up a fight in Tubi’s rankings. On March 28, the film climbed to the number four spot among the platform’s most-watched content. The following day, it rose even higher, securing the third position. By March 30, it had dipped to seventh place, and then, rather unexpectedly, vanished from the top charts completely for two days. But Snitch wasn’t done—it resurfaced on April 2 at number five and held strong at number six the following day.
Dwayne Johnson Surprising Comeback
So, what exactly is driving Snitch’s mini-resurgence in popularity? The answer might be simpler than expected. There’s no major marketing campaign behind it, no big social media buzz, and no recent tie-in or trending moment connected to the film. Instead, it seems that its reappearance in the spotlight is purely due to timing and availability. The movie was added to Tubi’s growing content library at the beginning of March, and with the platform boasting around 97 million active monthly users, there was a massive audience already in place looking for something fresh to watch.
The presence of Dwayne Johnson—still a recognizable and appealing figure to many—likely helped catch the attention of curious viewers browsing the app. With little else driving the surge, it’s fair to say the film’s recent streaming success is powered by pure viewer interest and word-of-mouth. While Snitch may not be the grand comeback that Dwayne Johnson is hoping for during this unpredictable period of his career, its steady presence on Tubi’s charts is a reminder that his earlier work still resonates with a large portion of the audience. In the world of streaming, where older or forgotten movies often find new life, this kind of momentum matters.
Charting consistently on Tubi—one of the largest ad-supported streaming services in the world—means that Snitch is being watched by millions, even if it’s not trending on more high-profile platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime. Whether or not it keeps climbing or slowly fades away again, the fact that it’s managed to reappear and perform well at all suggests there’s still genuine interest in Johnson’s lesser-known work. As this week unfolds, it will be interesting to see if the film can hold its ground or even surprise everyone by climbing the charts once more.
Box Office Wins and Losses
The film Snitch, was first seen at the American box office on February 22, 2013 which came out as an action thriller drama. The film turned out not to be the biggest hit of its carrier, but it sold well enough and wasn’t labeled a failure. Its worldwide box office grossing is $57.9 million, which appears to be a small amount compared to Johnson’s Furious ‘7, which made over a billion dollars in ticket sales. However, we should understand the figures properly. Snitch was made with a budget of $15 million. So, even though it couldn’t become a big phenomenon, the film still brought a favorable profit to its distributor, Lionsgate.
Initially, on its opening weekend, it ranked in the second place in the theaters and collected $13.1 million, which is a good start despite its competition. The film was on the screen against the movie Identity Thief by Universal, which managed to surpass it with $14 million only. Despite its commercial viability, Snitch didn’t receive the warmest welcome from critics. The reviews were largely mixed, leading to a rating of 57%, with the score dropping further to 50% when filtered to only the platform’s “top critics.” This range of reactions reflected the film’s struggle to find a consistent tone.
Many reviewers were torn between its attempt to present a serious critique of harsh drug sentencing laws and its moments of standard action fare featuring The Rock in high-stakes, high-impact situations. Some critics seemed to believe the film was trying to do too much at once, aiming for depth but ultimately landing in an awkward middle ground. The London Evening Standard, for instance, was particularly critical, writing that the film “wants to be Breaking Bad,” but then bluntly concluded, “When the camera’s on Dwayne Johnson, it’s just bad.”
Praises for Dwayne Johnson Effort
On the other hand, not every critic dismissed Snitch so quickly. Although there were different opinions on the film in general, some of the reviewers had a more balanced view, they picked to discuss only the performance of Dwayne Johnson, which was accepted by the majority as the best feature of the movie. One of the case in point was Bilge Ebiri from New York Magazine who gave high words of Johnson for the role that had been the most emotional in a film of somewhat inconsistent quality. Ebiri stressed that the fate of the film might be sealed by the actor himself, that it was Johnson who made the film a successful venture, and immediately furthered that Johnson was “just right” for the character.
I think first of all that this should be taken from the very beginning of the paragraph Such positive reviews helped give Snitch a degree of credibility that numbers alone couldn’t provide. Though Snitch never made it onto curated lists of Dwayne Johnson’s best films—such as the one maintained by /Film—it also never fell to the level of some of his more widely criticized roles.
For instance, it avoided the backlash that followed Black Adam, a film that promised much but failed to deliver both critically and commercially. And when comparing it to lighter fare like Tooth Fairy, Snitch certainly emerges as a stronger and more grounded effort. These comparisons are particularly important now that Snitch has found new life on Tubi, a free streaming platform where older titles are getting a second chance to shine. However, the film won’t have the spotlight to itself. Currently, Samaritan, a gritty sci-fi superhero movie led by Sylvester Stallone, is sitting at number two on the Tubi charts.
