Dwayne Johnson delivers a stark, serious turn as UFC icon Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine, which world premieres Monday at the Venice Film Festival. While reviews aren’t in yet, the buzz centers on Johnson’s dramatic transformation and the project’s potential Oscar traction. Venice’s artistic director Alberto Barbera called Johnson “absolutely amazing” in the role and suggested a strong chance the film could be in the Oscar conversation next year, with Emily Blunt also drawing attention as Kerr’s wife. Barbera noted that he initially viewed the title as a contender out of competition, but after seeing the film, he believes it’s a great movie.
Kerr is a two-time UFC heavyweight tournament winner who retired in 2009. Known as “The Smashing Machine,” Kerr’s life off the mat has also been marked by battles with painkiller and opioid addiction, including overdoses.
Johnson, long known for his wrestling roots and blockbuster franchises, has been nudging into more dramatic territory, and The Smashing Machine marks another high-profile collaboration with Benny Safdie. Safdie, who has acted in projects like Oppenheimer and is part of the filmmaking duo that co-directed Uncut Gems with his brother Josh, brings a dual lens as both actor and writer-director to the film.
In a director’s statement for The Smashing Machine, Safdie described the title as a fitting onomatopoeia that conjures images of domination and destruction. He said the team sought to truly inhabit Kerr and his wife Dawn Staples, aiming to empathetically portray their experiences and create a memory for audiences that lingers beyond the closing credits.
The film sits in Venice’s main competition, sharing the stage with titles such as Frankenstein, Bugonia, The Voice of Hind Rajab, La Grazia, and No Other Choice as contenders for top prizes, with the festival’s awards announced on Sept. 6. The Smashing Machine is slated to open in North American theaters on Oct. 3.
Editor’s note: This premiere positions Johnson for another pivotal moment in his career, spotlighting a high-profile biographical portrayal that tackles resilience in the face of physical and personal challenges. The collaboration with Safdie and the A24 release cadence continues a pattern of festival-driven, awards-focused campaigns that have previously elevated actors to Oscar contention. Readers can look for deeper explorations of Kerr’s real-life arc, the filmmaking approach to depicting addiction and recovery, and how the film handles memory and empathy for its subjects.
Summary: The Venice debut of The Smashing Machine casts Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr in a drama that intertwines triumph and struggle, drawing early Oscar buzz and backstopped by a thoughtful director’s vision and a release strategy designed to maximize awards visibility. The story blends Kerr’s competitive legacy with his battles off the mat, offering a potential breakthrough performance for Johnson ahead of a October North American release.