Dwayne Johnson‘s profession may be taking a daring new flip following the response to The Smashing Machine. Directed by Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine stars Dwayne Johnson because the real-life former wrestler Mark Kerr in a biographical drama that has been on many individuals’s radar as a possible Oscar contender. Smashing Machine debuted on the Venice Movie Pageant on Sept. 1, 2025, forward of its theatrical launch on Oct. 3, 2025, in what many predict to be an award-season contender.
The response to The Smashing Machine has been rapturous, as seen in a video shared by DiscussingFilm, which exhibits Dwayne Johnson tearing up on the large 15-minute standing ovation, obtainable under. The Smashing Machine acquired on the Toronto Worldwide Movie Pageant. The Smashing Machine has additionally earned a powerful 88% on Rotten Tomatoes based mostly on 17 opinions, with a lot of the opinions spotlighting Johnson’s efficiency.
Is an Academy Award Nomination in Dwayne Johnson’s Sights?
The Smashing Machine is competing in competitors on the 82nd Venice Worldwide Movie Pageant towards titles like Yorgos Lanthimos’ Bugonia, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, and Shu Qi’s Woman, simply to call a couple of. Additionally occurring the identical weekend is the 52nd annual Telluride Movie Pageant, which wrapped up on September 1. Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Worth, Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, and Scott Cooper’s Springstein: Ship Me from Nowhere all debuted on the competition with hopes of award-season prospects. The primary main casualty of the award season was Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, which scored poorly with critics.
A24 is pulling out all of the stops for The Smashing Machine, as it’s the studio’s first movie shot with IMAX cameras. Following the Venice Movie Pageant premiere, The Smashing Machine will subsequent display on the 2025 Toronto Worldwide Movie Pageant on Sept. 8, 2025. The hope is to construct buzz earlier than the film’s October launch, which tends to be seen because the kick-off to awards season. With Dwayne Johnson’s star energy, The Smashing Machine may probably be a blockbuster movie, and if it might probably gross greater than $25.5 million, it’ll surpass Civil Warfare to be A24’s largest opening weekend ever.
The Smashing Machine is being positioned as a turning level for Dwayne Johnson’s profession. After hitting what appeared like a artistic low level with crucial and field workplace misfires like Black Adam and Purple One, Dwayne Johnson is trying to push his profession and transfer outdoors his consolation zone in much less secure or standard tasks. He nonetheless definitely has these family-friendly movie franchises lined up, as 2026 will see him star as Maui within the live-action Moana and return for a Jumanji sequel later that 12 months. Nonetheless, Johnson can also be set to star in Martin Scorsese’s subsequent characteristic movie alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and his Smashing Machine co-star Emily Blunt. The Smashing Machine may even see him on the awards circuit, probably touchdown his first-ever Academy Award nomination. It’s nonetheless far too quickly to inform that, however the pathway seems to be set.
The Smashing Machine
- Launch Date
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October 3, 2025
- Runtime
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123 minutes
- Director
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Benny Safdie
- Writers
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Benny Safdie
- Producers
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Beau Flynn, David Koplan, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia