Considering WWE Studios lost nearly $3 million on a John Cena action movie in 2009 (12 Rounds), one would think the company would avoid making another action movie starring Cena. But just two years later WWE released The Reunion only to lose even more money. The nonsensical plot involves three dysfunctional brothers and their sister who are forced to become bail bondsmen in order to inherit their recently deceased father's fortune. They end up tracking a target to an extremely dangerous area of Mexico and a mixture of gun fighting and family feuding transpires. It was one of WWE Studios more expensive releases (The Reunion had a $6.9 million budget), and the film ended up costing WWE Studios $4.8 million. The film did particularly bad with critics, even by WWE Studios standards (with only a 8% on Rotten Tomatoes). Cena hasnt starred in a WWE Studios movie since, and although he has filmed roles in the 2015 comedy films Trainwreck and The Nest its doubtful that Hollywood will be knocking on Cenas door to ask him to do another action movie.
Chris McKittrick is a published author of fiction and non-fiction and has spoken about film and comic books at conferences across the United States. In addition to his work at WhatCulture!, he is a regular contributor to CreativeScreenwriting.com, MovieBuzzers.com, and DailyActor.com, a website focused on acting in all media. For more information, visit his website at http://www.chrismckit.com.
