Dwayne Johnson’s new movie, *The Smashing Machine*, is now playing in theaters, and its initial box office results have been unexpected.
The new sports movie, a biography, opened with only $6 million in ticket sales domestically, which is the lowest start of Dwayne Johnson’s career. It made $850,000 from showings the night before.
Benny Safdie directed, wrote, co-produced, and edited *The Smashing Machine*, a film about the life of Mark Kerr, a former wrestler and mixed martial artist. Luke Kirby stars as Kerr, with Emily Blunt playing his girlfriend, Dawn Staples. Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten, and Oleksandr Usyk also appear in the movie.
Check out a sneak peek from ‘THE SMASHING MACHINE,’ the new movie starring Dwayne Johnson! It hits theaters on October 3rd.
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 25, 2025
This film is inspired by the 2002 documentary *The Smashing Machine*, which chronicled the life of fighter Mark Kerr. It first premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on September 1st, where director Josh Safdie won the Silver Lion award. A24 then released the movie in American cinemas on October 3rd.
The film has received mostly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 73% of 213 critics gave it a positive rating. Their consensus highlights Dwayne Johnson’s strong performance as Mark Kerr, calling it a realistic biopic that avoids typical tropes, even if it doesn’t fully resolve the story, and still delivers a powerful emotional impact.
Metacritic assigned the movie a score of 65/100, averaging reviews from 53 critics and suggesting generally positive reactions. Viewers, however, rated it a bit lower, giving it a ‘B-‘ through CinemaScore.
The movie cost around $50 million to make and critics are particularly impressed with Dwayne Johnson’s acting, which is different from the typical action roles he plays. Although it didn’t open with huge numbers at the box office, its success could grow if people start talking about it and it’s released in more countries.
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2025-10-06 03:47