Oscar Buzz For The Rock After ‘The Smashing Machine’ Receives 15-Minute Standing Ovation

• Dwayne Johnson is the cultural frontrunner for an Oscar after the premiere of The Smashing Machine at the 2025 Venice Film Festival.
• Directed by Benny Safdie (Good Times, Uncut Gems), the sports biopic centred on mixed martial arts pioneer and wrestler Mark Kerr received a 15-minute standing ovation that moved Johnson to tears.
• The Smashing Machine is set to release on October 2nd, 2025 in Australia.

In the same calendar year that Daniel Day-Lewis came out of retirement,