The Smashing Machine (2025)

Directed by

Benny Safdie

Genre

biographical film, sport film

Country

United States

Runtime

2h 03m

Rated

R

Rating

6.4 of 10 from 652 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A biographical sports drama about former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr. It follows his career and relationship with his girlfriend.

intenserawgrittyemotionalbiographicalseriousdramaticgrounded

What happens

The Smashing Machine is a 2025 American biographical sports drama film, written and directed by Benny Safdie. It stars Dwayne Johnson as former amateur wrestler and MMA fighter Mark Kerr, alongside Emily Blunt as Kerr's girlfriend, with Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten and Oleksandr Usyk in supporting roles. The Smashing Machine premiered at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2025, where it won the Silver Lion. It was released in the United States on October 3 by A24, and received generally positive reviews from critics. The film was a box office bomb, grossing $21 million against a $50 million budget. It was nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 98th Academy Awards. At the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, Johnson was nominated for Best Actor and Blunt was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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