Could Dwayne Johnson finally score an Oscar? The Smashing Machine Premiere sparks buzz at Venice Film Festival

Dwayne Johnson is stepping out of blockbuster mode and into the Oscar conversation. The actor, best known for his larger-than-life roles in Jumanji and the Fast & Furious franchise, trades in his action-hero swagger for grit and heartbreak as UFC legend Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine. The film, directed by Benny Safdie, has its world premiere Monday at the Venice Film Festival — and it’s already sparking serious awards buzz.

Venice has a track record of launching Best Actor contenders — from Brendan Fraser in The Whale to Adrien Brody in The Brutalist — and festival director Alberto Barbera thinks Johnson could be next. “He’s absolutely amazing,” Barbera said, adding that both Johnson and Emily Blunt, who plays Kerr’s wife Dawn Staples, wouldn’t surprise him as Oscar nominees next year, as quoted by the Associated Press.

The Smashing Machine, distributed by A24, tells the story of Kerr, a two-time UFC heavyweight tournament winner whose brutal career in MMA was shadowed by addiction to painkillers and opioids. Nicknamed “The Smashing Machine” for his dominance in the ring, Kerr’s struggles off it — including two overdoses — add emotional heft to Johnson’s transformation.

Safdie, who appeared in Oppenheimer and co-directed Uncut Gems with his brother Josh, calls the title “a perfect onomatopoeia for something visual, conjuring images of domination and destruction with ease.” But at the film’s core, he says, is empathy: “We wanted to understand what it’s really like to be Mark Kerr, what it’s like to be Dawn Staples. I wanted this movie to exist as a memory for everyone who watches it.”

With a competition lineup that also includes Frankenstein, Bugonia, and The Voice of Hind Rajab, Venice 2025 is shaping up to be a star-studded awards season preview. Winners will be announced September 6, with The Smashing Machine heading to North American theaters on October 3.

With inputs from The Associated Press