The Smashing Machine
October 2 - 15, 2025
In one of the year’s most unexpected team-ups, indie icon Benny Safdie and star Dwayne Johnson unite in this powerful and gritty account of the career of MMA and UFC pioneer Mark Kerr.
Dwayne Johnson and indie icon Benny Safdie team up in this powerful story of pioneering mixed martial arts/UFC fighter Mark Kerr. Kerr helped grow the sport’s popularity in its early days, but the fights’ brutal demands and constant international travel took a toll, eventually leading to painkiller addiction. Playing against expectations, Johnson stuns here, with his humor and physicality, matching those of Kerr at his heyday. He gives an eye-opening performance, abetted by Emily Blunt as Dawn, Kerr’s devoted partner, tormented by the price he pays. Told in a quasi-documentary style, buoyed by the presence of a slew of MMA legends like Bas Rutten and Ryan Bader, even a cameo from Kerr himself, it upends the well-worn, familiar conventions of its genre. In its grit, its documentary feel, and its raw honesty, this is a sports film unlike any other.
- Director: Benny Safdie
- Principal Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt
- Country: USA
- Year: 2025
- Running Time: 123 min.
- Producer: Benny Dafdie, Swayne Johnson, Eli Bush, Hiram Garcia, Dany Garcia, David Koplan
- Screenplay: Benny Safdie
- Cinematographers: Maceo Bishop
- Editors: Benny Safdie
- Music: Nala Sinephro
- Filmography: Uncut Gems (2019), Heaven Knows What (2014), Daddy Longlegs (2009)
- US Distributor: A24