‘The Smashing Machine’ Finally Gets an HBO Max Release Date — Here’s When to Watch
Dwayne Johnson’s intense film The Smashing Machine is getting a new life on streaming. According to HBO Max, the movie will arrive on the platform on January 23, giving viewers another chance to see Johnson in what many have called the most serious role of his career.
The film is directed by Benny Safdie and tells the story of real-life MMA fighter Mark Kerr. Kerr was a dominant force in the sport in the late 1990s and 2000s and won multiple ADCC World Championships. The movie follows both his rise in the fighting world and the personal struggles that came with it.
The Smashing Machine is really setting the bar high…an unrecognizable Dwayne Johnson looks to give the best performance of his career, helmed by Benny Safdie produced by A24…yeah I can’t see Zack Snyder’s BRAWLER topping this… pic.twitter.com/zUEgsLhHV3
— YouTube: @TheSimulationPresents (@FilmAgeStudios) April 29, 2025
Johnson takes on the role of Kerr, while Emily Blunt plays Kerr’s wife, Dawn Staples. The cast also includes Bas Rutten, Lyndsey Gavin, Oleksandr Usyk, and several well-known figures from the fighting world. The movie marks Safdie’s first solo directing effort after working with his brother Josh Safdie on films like Uncut Gems and Good Time.
The Smashing Machine also reunites Johnson and Blunt after they worked together on Jungle Cruise in 2021. The two actors are set to work together again soon, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, in a crime film directed by Martin Scorsese.
While the movie did not perform strongly at the box office, opening with $5.9 million in the U.S., Johnson has been open about what the project meant to him. In a post shared on Instagram after the film’s release, he thanked fans for watching and reflected on the experience.
“From deep in my grateful bones, thank you to everyone who has watched ‘The Smashing Machine,’” Johnson wrote. “In our storytelling world, you can’t control box office results — but what I realized you can control is your performance, and your commitment to completely disappear and go elsewhere. And I will always run to that opportunity.”
He also praised Safdie for trusting him with such a demanding role, adding that the film had a lasting impact on his life.
With its upcoming HBO Max release, the movie may reach a wider audience and spark new conversations around Johnson’s dramatic turn and the raw story it tells.
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