- The world is set to witness Dwayne Johnson in a dramatic new light with A24’s The Smashing Machine.
- Directed by Benny Safdie, the sports biopic centres on mixed martial arts pioneer and wrestler Mark Kerr; and borrows the name from the 2002 HBO documentary of the same subject.
- The Smashing Machine release date: October 2nd, 2025 here in Australia.
For many Hollywood fixtures, there comes a time when they graduate from everyday movie star to actor (with a capital ‘A’).
Adam Sandler had Punch Drunk Love. Matthew McConaughey had A Time To Kill the first time around, and then Jeff Nichols’ Mud during his mythic “McConaissance.”
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As for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, after a decade of lining his pockets with lowbrow plane movies and an aborted DC universe hierarchy reorganiser (pre-James Gunn, of course), the WWE heel turned thespian is finally taking on his first adult role with A24’s The Smashing Machine.
Under the creative direction of Benny Safdie, one half of the celebrated filmmaking brothers known for Good Times and Uncut Gems (both also character re-inventions for Robert Pattinson and the aforementioned Sandler, respectively), Johnson has assumed the identity of mixed martial arts legend Mark Kerr.
That name may not be familiar to modern fans of the UFC, Bellator, or even ONE Championship. And the lack of mainstream recognition just one of the “what if” moments of the heavyweight pioneer’s career.
With aspirations to become a pro wrestling superstar, Kerr was a gifted NCAA Division I grappler and four-time ADCC World Champion who bested the likes of future UFC champion Randy Couture and Olympic gold medallist slash WWE icon Kurt Angle. Fate, however, had other plans for him.
After being edged out by Angle for the 1996 Summer Olympics, wherein he achieved said gilded glory, Mark Kerr decided to pursue a career in the nascent sport of MMA.
The renowned ground-and-pounder quickly made a name for himself: winning two early UFC tournaments, cultivating a fanbase from the golden era of Japan’s Pride, and stacking victories at the World Vale Tudo Championship while amassing an undefeated 11-0 professional record.
But as you can imagine, it wasn’t a straight shot to the bright lights.
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In an arc not entirely dissimilar to Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke – which we desperately hope The Smashing Machine manages to emulate the tragic ethos of – Mark Kerr’s legend would also entail a battle with painkiller addiction and eventually financial struggles.
Dwayne Johnson aside, A24’s The Smashing Machine features Emily Blunt as Kerr’s longtime partner Dawn Staples, former Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader as inaugural UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman, the one and only Bas Rutten as himself, heavyweight boxing great Oleksandr Usyk as Igor Vovchanchyn; along with Lyndsey Gavin as Elizabeth Coleman, Satoshi Ishii as Enson Inoue, and plenty more.
The Smashing Machine has been written, directed, and produced by Benny Safdie, with cinematography accomplished by Maceo Bishop (The Curse). An Australia release date has been set for October 2nd, 2025 – check out the trailer above.
