The Rock-led ‘Smashing Machine’ movie sets theatrical release date
Image: WWE
The theatrical release date for The Smashing Machine led by Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson is now official.
A24 announced Wednesday that the movie based on the life of former MMA/UFC star Mark Kerr will hit theaters on Friday, October 3rd of this year.
The film is directed and written by Bennie Safdie and also stars Emily Blunt who Johnson has appeared alongside in Disney’s Jungle Cruise.
From the Deadline news on the release date:
“(The movie) follows Kerr (Johnson) from the no-holds-barred era of the UFC at the peak of his career as he questions himself and struggles with life and his relationships. Meanwhile, Mark’s girlfriend Dawn Staples (Blunt) struggles as well to find her place in Mark’s chaotic and contradictory world.”
The 56-year-old Kerr was an NCAA Division I amateur wrestling champion in addition to other global tournaments. He won two of the early UFC heavyweight tournaments (UFC 14 and 15) and also competed in PRIDE. He last fought in August 2009 and ended his career on a five-fight losing streak.
He was the focus of a 2002 documentary of the same name.
The first image of Johnson playing Kerr came out nearly a year ago. He suffered an elbow injury while filming the movie which he chalked up to soft tissue damage.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.