When “Smashing Machines” arrives on HBO Max on January 23, viewers will get a second chance to see the most dramatic change in Dwayne Johnson’s career.
Directed by Benny Safdie, Smashing Machine is a biopic about two-time UFC heavyweight champion Mark Carr. In addition to Johnson, the film also stars Emily Blunt, who plays Carr’s wife Dawn Staples, Bas Rutten, Lindsay Gavin, and Oleksandr Usyk.
Kerr is a mixed martial artist who fought from 1997 to 2009 and won the ADCC World Championship four times. Safdie, who co-directed and co-wrote Uncut Gems and Good Time with his brother Josh, makes his solo feature directorial debut with this film.
‘Smashing Machines’ marks Johnson and Blunt’s second collaboration since the 2021 Disney film ‘Jungle Cruise,’ where they will co-star alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s Hawaiian crime thriller.
Despite the low domestic box office gross of $5.9 million, Johnson maintained a positive outlook on the project and his collaboration with Safdie.
“From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank everyone who watched ‘Smashing Machine’,” Johnson posted on Instagram after the opening weekend. “In our world of storytelling, you can’t control the box office. But what you can control is your performance and your determination to completely disappear and go somewhere else. And I always run towards that opportunity.”
Johnson added, “It was an honor to transform into this role for director Benny Safdie. Thank you, brother, for believing in me.” To tell you the truth, this movie changed my life. With deep gratitude, respect, and thorough sympathy, DJ. ”
