Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was practically a blubbering baby after debuting his new movie, “The Smashing Machine,” at the Venice Film Festival … where he got one hell of a reaction.
Check it out … Dwayne and his costar, Emily Blunt, wipe away tears as the audience at the film festival showers the performers with love … including a 15-minute standing ovation. Take it in!!!
Dwayne Johnson weeps during the 15-minute #Venezia2025 standing ovation for ‘The Smashing Machine.’ This was the most emotion we’ve since on the Lido since Brendan Fraser launched his Oscar campaign here four years ago for ‘The Whale.’ pic.twitter.com/BzAjB4v6uk
— Ramin Setoodeh (@RaminSetoodeh) September 1, 2025
@RaminSetoodeh
While The Rock is no stranger to public affection — he’s dominated the box office many times over his career — “The Smashing Machine” sets up the WWE star as a possible Oscars contender for this year’s awards show.
The buzz is already being compared to the reaction Brendan Fraser received after the debut of “The Whale” in 2022 … which, as you know, landed Brendan his Oscar and re-started his career.
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For those who didn’t catch the trailer, the upcoming sports drama from writer-director Benny Safdie stars The Rock as MMA legend Mark Kerr — who was the subject of a hit HBO documentary, also called “The Smashing Machine.”
Emily, who previously starred in “Jungle Cruise” with The Rock, plays Kerr’s dedicated girlfriend, Dawn.
“The Smashing Machine” is set to debut in the U.S. on Oct. 3.
