Dwayne Johnson's Intense 2013 Crime Thriller Is A Major Hit On Tubi

Dwayne Johnson’s Intense 2013 Crime Thriller Is A Major Hit On Tubi

DRRA April 5, 2025

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Dwayne Johnson's John Matthews looks across frame in Snitch

Lionsgate

The Rock is going through a bit of a weird time in his career. Ever since 2022’s “Black Adam” underperformed and he pretended it didn’t, the good will he’d accrued throughout several decades has been dissipating. The former WWE star, who recently returned to his wrestling roots, has seemed to flounder, and reports of disgusting on-set habits haven’t helped in that regard. But “Red One,” his Christmas movie for Amazon, seemed to do well and his aforementioned pro-wrestling return might go some way to restoring the public’s faith in a man who at one time seemed to be one of the most-liked figures in Hollywood.

Long before any of this played out, however, and even before he became the massive movie star he eventually did, The Rock was starring in some middling action thrillers in his quest to conquer Hollywood. In recent years, we’ve seen some of these neglected entries in his filmography resurface, such as the forgotten Johnson action flop that was given new life on Netflix in December 2024. Now, audiences have rediscovered yet another of the man’s lesser-known features in “Snitch,” a 2013 effort from director Ric Roman Waugh.

Waugh, who also directed “Angel Has Fallen” and the Gerard Butler-led “Greenland,” which was not your typical disaster movie, is a former stuntman who worked on everything from “Universal Soldier” to “The Crow.” While pairing The Rock with such a director for a crime thriller seems like a no-brainer, “Snitch” wasn’t all that well-received upon its initial release, even though it made a decent little profit. Now, however, Tubi audiences have uncovered the film and sent it into the charts over on the free streamer, which isn’t going to fix Johnson’s current career struggles but is something, at least.

Snitch isn’t going down without a fight on Tubi

Jon Bernthal's Daniel James talks to Dwayne Johnson's John Matthews in Snitch

Lionsgate

“Snitch” is based on DEA informant James Settembrino’s experiences and stars Dwayne Johnson as John Matthews, a father who agrees to go undercover for the DEA in order to reduce the prison sentence of his son, Jason (Rafi Gavron). Essentially, then, “Snitch” shows you what happens when The Rock immerses himself in the world of illegal narcotics, which sounds like a decently entertaining/ridiculous premise for an action thriller.

Apparently, Tubi viewers agree. According to FlixPatrol, a site that tracks streaming viewership numbers across the various platforms, “Snitch” has been hanging out in the free streaming service’s charts for some time now, and like its hulking star, refuses to be taken down for good. The film hit number four on March 28, 2025, rising to number three the following day before dropping to seventh place on March 30. “Snitch” then disappeared from the rankings for two full days, before resurfacing on April 2 to take the number five spot. As of April 3, “Snitch” fell to number six, but based on its performance thus far, anything could happen as the week plays out.

What is propelling the Tubi success of “Snitch”? Well, nothing, other than the fact the movie was added to the service on March 1, 2025. It seems, then, that the Tubi audiences were hungry for new movies, and Dwayne Johnson just happened to be what they were looking for. While it’s not quite the career revitalization the man is likely hoping for, with a reported 97 million monthly active users, Tubi is the biggest ad-supported streamer out there, so charting on the service means it’s being watched by a ton of people. The question now is, how long can “Snitch” maintain its momentum?

Snitch is not the best or worst Dwayne Johnson film

Dwayne Johnson's John Matthews looks down in closeup in Snitch

Lionsgate

Originally released in the United States on February 22, 2013, “Snitch” made $57.9 million at the global box office, which, compared to the more than $1 billion grossing “Furious 7,” isn’t all that impressive for a Dwayne Johnson flick. But considering it only cost $15 million to make, that’s actually a pretty solid performance, making distributor Lionsgate a neat profit. The movie was also number two at the box office on its opening weekend with a $13.1 million take, just losing out to Universal’s “Identity Thief,” which made $14 million.

However you look at it, then, “Snitch” wasn’t a flop — at least not commercially. Critically? That’s a different story. The film currently has a 57% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which falls to 50% for the so-called “top critics.” Seemingly at issue was the film’s vague attempts to critique drug legislation while also acting as a showcase for how cool The Rock looks when he’s doing action stuff. The London Evening Standard was perhaps the most unforgiving, surmising that “‘Snitch’ wants to be Breaking Bad. When the camera’s on Johnson, it’s just bad.” Still, New York Magazine was actually quite complimentary of Johnson, with reviewer Bilge Ebiri writing “In the end, this is a movie that lives or dies on Johnson’s performance, and luckily, the actor is perfect.”

“Snitch” didn’t make /Film’s list of the best Dwayne Johnson movies, but it’s no “Black Adam” and is certainly better than that time Johnson played the Tooth Fairy. All of which bodes well for its future on Tubi, where it will have to deal with Sylvester Stallone’s gritty superhero sci-fi “Samaritan,” currently at number two on Tubi, if it wants to triumph on the charts.

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