The Smashing Machine

The Smashing Machine (2025)

Timing: 2:3 (123 min)

6.482/10
533

5.944/10
8685

6.3/10
66000

All about film

Video 23

Photo 92

Actors and characters

Release date

2025-10-01

Country

United States

Production

A24, Seven Bucks Productions, Out for the Count, Magnetic Fields Entertainment

Genre

Drama, History

Budget

$50 000 000

Revenue

$21 133 481

Website

https://a24films.com/films/the-smashing-machine

Director

Benny Safdie

Actors

Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, Oleksandr Usyk, Lyndsey Gavin, Zoe Kosovic, Satoshi Ishii, James Moontasri, Yoko Hamamura
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

David Koplan, Dany Garcia, Beau Flynn, Dwayne Johnson, Hiram Garcia, Eli Bush, Tracey Landon

Operator

Maceo Bishop

Composer

Nala Sinephro

Artist

Natasha Stoesz, Lisa Pouliot

Audition

Jennifer Venditti

Editing

Benny Safdie
All team (97)

• Bas Rutten, formerly a trainer and close friend of Mark Kerr, played himself. Steven Quadros also played himself, having previously been a commentator for PRIDE fighting (referring to Pride Fighting Championships, a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion that existed from 1997 to 2007).
• During the filming of a fight scene, Dwayne Johnson (playing the main character) insisted that his co-star Yoko Hamamura hit him without holding back. She initially refused, but Johnson persisted. Director and screenwriter Benny Safdie eventually convinced Hamamura, resulting in a hit so powerful that Johnson suffered a concussion.
• Tequila was kept on set, which proved useful during the filming of the most challenging moments in the relationship between Dwayne Johnson’s and Emily Blunt’s characters.
• For the role of Mark Kerr, actor Dwayne Johnson wore special prosthetics created by Kazu Hiro (a special effects makeup artist and visualist). Hiro previously worked on films such as Joe Wright’s 2017 war drama “Darkest Hour” (where he transformed Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill) and Bradley Cooper’s 2023 biographical drama “Maestro” (where he transformed Cooper into composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein). Applying the 21 prosthetics to his body each filming day took three to four hours. In addition, Johnson worked with a linguist who helped him soften his voice.
• Dwayne Johnson began preparing for the role of a boxer in April 2024, a month before filming began. He first completed a 12-week training course for WrestleMania 40 (the landmark, fortieth show in the history of the American wrestling promotion WWE, which took place in early April 2024 in Philadelphia), and after a ten-day break, he began training for filming with Benny Safdie. Johnson started with cardio (a type of aerobic exercise where a person breathes actively, supplying the body with a lot of oxygen necessary for the oxidation of fats and carbohydrates) on an empty stomach, then weightlifting after lunch, followed by another 15-20 minutes of cardio, and then another hour or half an hour of sparring.
• Dwayne Johnson approached Benny Safdie with the idea of making the film “Crusher” after seeing his 2019 thriller “Uncut Gems.” Safdie agreed and sent Johnson an email accompanied by a Mark Kerr-branded “Nautica” sweater. For some reason, the letter and sweater never reached Johnson, so both – Johnson and Safdie – assumed the matter was closed due to lack of interest. In 2023, Safdie was filming Emily Blunt in the historical drama “Oppenheimer” and asked her if Johnson had received the package with the sweater back then. This led to her reconnecting Johnson and Safdie, and they revisited the idea of a film about Kerr, with Blunt taking on one of the roles.
• The interior of Mark Kerr’s house was built in a studio pavilion. In the dialogue between Dwayne Johnson’s and Emily Blunt’s characters, director and screenwriter Benny Safdie allowed the actors to improvise.