The Rock’s Major Movie To Premiere At Prestigious Film Festival

WWE

The Smashing Machine, the biopic of MMA fighter Mark Kerr starring WWE’s The Rock is premiering at a prestigious film festival.

Earlier this year, the trailer for the upcoming movie revealed an almost unrecognizable Johnson as the legendary fighter, struggling through addictions and supported by his wife, played by Emily Blunt.

Set for an October 3 release date, the movie will get its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, which runs between August 27 and September 6, as reported by Variety.

Written and directed by Benny Safdie, the movie secured a number of international distribution deals in August 2024.

With major movies competing for the Golden Lion, The Smashing Machine will have competition in the form of such titles as the Guillermo del Toro-directed Netflix adaptation of Frankenstein, starring Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac.

The film festival sees Netflix well represented, with Jay Kelly starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler also set to premiere.

Sandler stars in Happy Gilmore 2 for Netflix, which features AEW’s MJF and WWE’s Becky Lynch in supporting roles.

The jury for the 2025 Venice Film Festival is led by Alexander Payne, award winning director of critically acclaimed movies including The Holdovers, Sideways and Nebraska.

Joining Payne on the judging panel are Stéphane Brizé, Maura Delpero, Cristian Mungiu, Mohammad Rasoulof, Fernanda Torres, and Zhao Tao.

The Venice Film Festival takes place on the Lido island in Italy with the 2025 event marking its 82nd incarnation.

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• The Rock
• dwayne johnson
• Smashing Machine
• Venice Film Festival

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