Johnson's The Smashing Machine opens to praise, weak box office

Dwayne Johnson’s A24 biopic The Smashing Machine opened in U.S. theaters on October 3 after a high-profile festival run, drawing strong critical attention for Johnson’s performance but a weak commercial response. The film, directed by Benny Safdie and based on a 2002 documentary about early mixed martial arts star Mark Kerr, earned roughly 6 million in its opening weekend across about 3,345 North American screens, finishing third behind two other releases and marking the lowest wide opening of Johnson’s career.

The Smashing Machine tracks Kerr’s peak years in MMA, his struggle with painkiller addiction and the strain on his relationship with Dawn Staples, played by Emily Blunt. Safdie’s film received a lengthy standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival and won a festival prize for direction, and critics have widely praised Johnson’s physical and emotional transformation in the lead role. The film carries a roughly 74 percent approval rating on aggregate review platforms and has generated awards-season discussion for its leading performances.

Kerr, who fought professionally from the late 1990s and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame earlier in 2025, attended early screenings...