Following a competitive situation, Amazon MGM Studios’ United Artists and Scott Stuber have landed Lizard Music, a package with Dwayne Johnson attached to star and Benny Safdie attached to direct. Safdie also will write the script, based on the Daniel Pinkwater novel. Deadline first reported the news that the package was hitting the market after Safdie and Johnson’s A24 pic The Smashing …
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Christopher Nolan Praises Dwayne Johnson in ‘Smashing Machine’
Dwayne Johnson‘s best actor Oscar campaign for “The Smashing Machine” is getting a surprise boost from none other than Christopher Nolan, who recently appeared on “The Director’s Cut” podcast for an interview with “Smashing Machine” director Benny Safdie. The “Oppenheimer” Oscar winner showered Johnson with praise for his performance as MMA fighter Mark Kerr, which Nolan called “heartbreaking.” “I think …
Read More »Dwayne Johnson on Smashing Machine Box Office Bomb Despite Oscar Buzz
Dwayne Johnson remains proud that he took a swing with The Smashing Machine. Hitting theaters over the weekend, writer-director Benny Safdie‘s A24 feature centers on Johnson’s portrayal of UFC Hall of Famer Mark Kerr as he navigates his fighting career and opioid addiction. The film, which carries awards season aspirations, collected $6 million in its opening frame, marking the lowest …
Read More »Dwayne Johnson on Smashing Machine Being Worst Box Office Opening Ever
Dwayne Johnson experienced the worst box office opening of his career with “The Smashing Machine,” the A24 drama that debuted to a rough $5.9 million domestically. But the actor is taking the bad news in stride. Johnson posted on Instagram that “you can’t control box office results” and praised director Benny Safdie for changing his life with the film, which …
Read More »Dwayne Johnson Takes to Social To Address ‘Smashing Machine’ Bombing
In the wake of posting the lowest wide opening of his career with A24’s The Smashing Machine, Dwayne Johnson has taken to Instagram with nothing but words of respect and gratitude for those who showed up. The Benny Safdie-directed movie opened to $5.9M in third, dwarfed by AMC Theatres’ eleventh hour addition of Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of …
Read More »Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Smashing Machine’ Bombs: Here’s Why
WWE vet Dwayne Johnson learned about his Achilles heel at the box office this weekend in Taylor Swift and Leonardo DiCaprio, after his R-rated drama The Smashing Machine, hit the mat as the blockbuster star’s lowest opening ever with $5.9M U.S. Indeed, this is quite upsetting for Johnson, for the story of UFC champ Mark Kerr was a passion project; …
Read More »Why Dwayne Johnson Movie Failed at Box Office
Guess audiences couldn’t smell what the Rock was cooking. Dwayne Johnson’s R-rated sports drama “The Smashing Machine” was knocked out at the box office with $6 million, a tragic start and career-worst debut for the A-list star. Those initial ticket sales are also a huge blow to A24, which spent $50 million to produce (and plenty more to market) the …
Read More »With ‘The Smashing Machine,’ Dwayne Johnson makes a prestige pivot. Can ‘The Rock’ be taken seriously?
In The Smashing Machine, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is battered and defeated — in bloody fights by his opponents in the ring, and in quiet moments by the world. In the movie he plays real-life UFC fighter and mixed martial artist Mark Kerr, whose dominance at the sport in the late 1990s begins to fall apart as his dependence on …
Read More »Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson plays Mark Kerr in ‘The Smashing Machine’ : NPR
Dwayne Johnson plays MMA fighter Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine. Eric Zachanowich/A24 hide caption toggle caption Eric Zachanowich/A24 Movie star Dwayne Johnson has a laundry list of injuries he’s sustained over the course of his career as a profession wrestler and a college football player. There was a ruptured Achilles tendon, a complete shoulder reconstruction and either four or …
Read More »‘The Smashing Machine’: Dwayne Johnson plays Syracuse University alum Mark Kerr in new movie
One of this fall’s most highly anticipated new movies is an A24 film about a Syracuse University alumnus. Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock, plays real-life MMA fighter Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine.” The movie, directed by Benny Safdie and also starring Emily Blunt as Kerr’s girlfriend, hits theaters next week. Kerr got his start as a wrestler in Toledo, …
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