Dwayne Johnson’s The Smashing Machine Delivers TKO at Venice With 15-Minute Ovation

Benny Safdie’s A24 drama lands big with a tearful Johnson, Emily Blunt, and MMA legend Mark Kerr in attendance.

Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine lived up to its title Monday night in Venice, flooring the crowd at its world premiere with a thunderous 15-minute standing ovation. Dwayne Johnson, stepping outside his blockbuster comfort zone to play UFC icon Mark Kerr, delivered the kind of performance that could change the course of his career — and perhaps the awards race.

The premiere was a cathartic moment for Johnson, who appeared visibly moved alongside co-star Emily Blunt, director Safdie, and Kerr himself, whose life the film dramatizes. The response inside Sala Grande was electric: chants of “DJ,” “Benny,” and “Emily” filled the theater as the cast fought back tears. In one of the night’s most surreal touches, Seth Rogen was spotted in the crowd, cheering wildly and snapping photos throughout the ovation.

Safdie’s drama traces Kerr’s meteoric rise in the early days of mixed martial arts, from the brutality of the octagon to the darkness of addiction. Known as “The Smashing Machine” for his ferocious dominance, Kerr’s legacy was nearly undone by a spiral into painkillers and personal demons. Johnson captures both the terrifying physicality and fragile humanity of the fighter, while Blunt brings steel and tenderness as Kerr’s partner, Dawn Staples-Kerr.

The film’s ensemble leans heavily on first-time performers, including real-life MMA fighters like Ryan Bader (as Mark Coleman), Oleksandr Usyk, and Satoshi Ishii, adding authenticity to Safdie’s raw approach. The fight sequences throb with lived-in intensity, while the quieter moments expose the emotional wreckage beneath Kerr’s public persona.

For Johnson, long associated with action franchises and charismatic screen presence, The Smashing Machine marks a dramatic departure — one born from passion. Safdie revealed that Johnson approached him in 2019 after watching the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr. “I realized there was a whole other side to Dwayne we could explore,” Safdie explained in the film’s notes. “Mark was complicated, and Dwayne’s connection to him unlocked something new.”

POPULAR ON THE CINEMA GROUP

Produced by A24 with Johnson, Safdie, and longtime collaborators Eli Bush and Dany Garcia, the film represents Safdie’s first solo directorial effort apart from his brother Josh. The result is at once ferocious and intimate: a character study disguised as a fight movie.

With its ecstatic reception at Venice, The Smashing Machine is already shaping up to be one of the festival’s defining moments — and an awards-season contender. For Johnson, the film may finally silence the skeptics: Hollywood’s most bankable action star has just proven he can hit just as hard in a drama.

The Smashing Machine will also debut at TIFF 50 and is set for release from A24 on Oct. 3. The Venice Film Festival runs Aug. 27-Sept. 6.