Venice Knockout: Dwayne Johnson’s “The Smashing Machine” Gets 15-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice Film Festival

Dwayne Johnson might have entered the Oscars ring.

The star got a very Oscar-friendly reception at the Venice Film Festival on Monday night, where he was on hand for the world premiere of Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine. Johnson stars as MMA legend Mark Kerr, sporting a prosthetic and an accent, marking an intriguing career pivot into prestige films. The result? A 15-minute standing ovation from the audience,

By The Credits  |  September 2, 2025
Dwayne Johnson Enters the Ring in First Trailer for Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine”

A24 has revealed the first trailer for Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, which stars Dwayne Johnson as MMA legend Mark Kerr, sporting a prosthetic and an accent in his first turn, potentially marking an intriguing career pivot into prestige films. (Johnson is part of a potential all-star cast for a projected Martin Scorsese-directed gangster film set in Hawaii.)

Kerr was one of the seminal early stars of the UFC,

By The Credits  |  April 29, 2025
First Look at Dwayne Johnson as MMA Legend Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine”

A24 has revealed the first look of Dwayne Johnson as MMA legend Mark Kerr in Benny Safdie’s upcoming film The Smashing Machine.

Johnson reunites with his Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt in Safdie’s A24 drama, from a script Safdie wrote with consultation with Kerr. Kerr was a dominant figure in the MMA ring but had no shortage of problems outside of it, including addiction struggles and domestic problems with his wife,

By The Credits  |  May 21, 2024