A24 debuted the official trailer for The Smashing Machine, a raw and gripping biographical sports drama film starring Dwayne Johnson as legendary MMA fighter Mark Kerr and Emily Blunt as his then-wife Dawn Staples.
The supporting cast features real MMA icons Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Oleksandr Usyk, and more
Directed by Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine world premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, where Johnson was moved to tears by a stirring 15-minute standing ovation, and Safdie won a Silver Lion for direction. The film opens in U.S. theaters on October 3, 2025.
This isn’t your typical triumph-of-the-underdog UFC biopic, it’s a portrait of a champion at the height of his powers, unraveling. Mark Kerr ascends as a dominant MMA force, only to be consumed by painkiller addiction, inner conflict, and the devastating fallout of personal relationships. Johnson’s performance captures both his physical dominance and the vulnerabilities hidden beneath.
In an interview with FRED.fm at Venice International Film Festival, Safdie said, “It’s a movie about a fighter who happens to be the greatest fighter in the world at that time but he’s a human being going through things just like everybody else.”
Watch the official trailer for The Smashing Machine, above.
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