The Smashing Machine Budget

What Is the Budget of The Smashing Machine?

The Smashing Machine (2025) was produced on a budget of $50 million by A24, Seven Bucks Productions, Out for the Count, and Magnetic Fields Entertainment. Written and directed by Benny Safdie in his solo feature debut following his collaborative work with brother Josh, the film stars Dwayne Johnson as MMA pioneer Mark Kerr alongside Emily Blunt as Kerr's girlfriend Dawn Staples. Johnson received $4 million for his starring role, a fraction of his typical paycheck for blockbuster productions, reflecting a deliberate creative choice to work with Safdie at a lower-than-market rate.

The film was shot on 16mm film as its primary format, with additional sequences in 70mm and VHS, a production choice that adds cost compared to digital acquisition but which Safdie used deliberately to create the textural feel of the late 1990s and early 2000s period in which the story is set. Principal photography ran from May 21 to August 7, 2024, across New Mexico, Tokyo, and Vancouver.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

• Cast and Above-the-Line Talent: Dwayne Johnson, who commanded $20 to $23 million per picture for franchise films, accepted $4 million for The Smashing Machine as part of a deliberate effort to pursue prestige work. Emily Blunt, whose fee for a production of this scale would typically range from $5 to $10 million, also worked at a reduced rate to participate in Benny Safdie's first solo film. The two leads' combined package, estimated at $8 to $12 million, represents the largest single cost center.
• Film Stock and Camera: Shooting predominantly on 16mm film, with additional sequences in 70mm and VHS, added significant cost over digital acquisition. Film stock, processing, and the specialized camera packages required for multi-format production typically add 15 to 25 percent to the camera department budget compared to a digital workflow. Cinematographer Maceo Bishop managed the multi-format approach.
• Filming Across Three Countries: Principal photography in New Mexico, Tokyo, and Vancouver required mobilizing the cast and crew internationally. The New Mexico shoot captured the American MMA circuit sequences, Tokyo was used for Pride FC fighting sequences from Kerr's Japanese career, and Vancouver served as an additional North American production base. Each location brought its own permitting, union, and logistics costs.
• Practical MMA Sequences: The film required choreographed and physically demanding MMA fight sequences involving Johnson, who trained extensively for the role, and supporting fighters including Ryan Bader playing Mark Coleman and Bas Rutten as himself. Training, stunt coordination, and the actual production of the fight sequences represented a meaningful share of the production budget.

How Does The Smashing Machine's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

The Smashing Machine sits in the mid-budget prestige sports biopic tier, where A24 films with major stars have set recent precedent.

• Foxcatcher (2014): Budget $24M | Worldwide $19M. Bennett Miller's wrestling drama with Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, and Channing Tatum is the closest template for The Smashing Machine: a prestige sports drama about a complex, troubled athlete that received strong critical acclaim but underperformed commercially.
• Concussion (2015): Budget $35M | Worldwide $49M. Will Smith's NFL brain injury drama demonstrates the commercial ceiling for sports biopics about athletic physical toll: a dedicated core audience but limited crossover appeal without a broader cultural hook.
• Creed III (2023): Budget $75M | Worldwide $271M. The MMA-adjacent boxing sequel at a higher budget tier shows what the combat sports genre can achieve when it combines franchise IP with a first-time director's fresh vision.
• Champion (2023): A Korean MMA biopic that demonstrates how combat sports narratives with emotional depth play differently in markets where MMA has deeper cultural roots, offering a useful international comparison for The Smashing Machine's limited international gross.

The Smashing Machine Box Office Performance

The Smashing Machine opened in the United States on October 3, 2025, following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2025, where it won the Silver Lion. The film debuted to $5.8 million domestically in its opening weekend, described in widespread reporting as the lowest opening weekend of Dwayne Johnson's career. It went on to gross $11.4 million domestically and $9.7 million internationally for a worldwide total of approximately $21.1 million.

Against a $50 million production budget and an estimated $20 million in prints and advertising costs, the total investment in The Smashing Machine was approximately $70 million. With theaters retaining roughly 50% of box office gross, the studio's share of the $21.1 million worldwide was approximately $10.5 million. The theatrical run fell well short of recovering the production and marketing investment, making The Smashing Machine a significant commercial disappointment despite its critical and awards success.

• Production Budget: $50M
• Estimated P&A: ~$20M
• Total Investment: ~$70M
• Worldwide Gross: $21.1M
• Estimated Studio Share (50%): ~$10.5M
• ROI (on production budget): approximately 42%

The Smashing Machine earned roughly $0.42 for every $1 invested in production from theatrical gross alone, making it one of A24's larger commercial misses alongside prestige dramas that underperformed at the box office despite strong critical reception. The film's Venice Silver Lion, Golden Globe nominations for both Johnson and Blunt, and Oscar nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling represent significant awards returns that will sustain the film's long-term streaming performance and legacy.

The Smashing Machine Production History

The Smashing Machine originated with Benny Safdie, who pursued the Mark Kerr story as his first solo feature after his collaborative career with brother Josh Safdie on films including Good Time and Uncut Gems. Safdie wrote the screenplay based on the life of Mark Kerr, one of the pioneering mixed martial artists of the late 1990s UFC and Pride FC eras whose career was documented in the 2002 documentary of the same name by John Hyams and David Dobosky. Dwayne Johnson, through his Seven Bucks Productions banner, came on board both as a producing partner and as the star willing to accept a substantially reduced fee to work with Safdie.

Principal photography ran from May 21 to August 7, 2024, a 78-day schedule that took the production across New Mexico, Tokyo, and Vancouver. Safdie chose to shoot predominantly on 16mm film to capture the gritty, intimate texture of the period, with 70mm sequences for select visually elevated moments and VHS footage to recreate the grainy documentation of early MMA. Cinematographer Maceo Bishop managed the multi-format approach. Emily Blunt joined the production as Dawn Staples, Kerr's girlfriend, with the real Mark Coleman, Bas Rutten, and Oleksandr Usyk appearing in supporting roles as fellow fighters.

Benny Safdie served as his own editor on the film, consistent with his practice on prior work. Composer Nala Sinephro, the Martinican-British jazz musician whose album Space 1.8 was widely acclaimed, provided the original score. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2025, winning the Silver Lion in a year when the competition was particularly strong.

The U.S. release followed on October 3, 2025. Despite the commercial underperformance, The Smashing Machine generated significant awards season attention, with Golden Globe nominations for both Johnson (Best Actor in a Drama) and Blunt (Best Supporting Actress) and an Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The film's reception established Benny Safdie as a formidable solo directorial voice beyond the Safdie Brothers collaborative identity.

Awards and Recognition

The Smashing Machine received significant awards recognition beginning at Venice, where it won the Silver Lion. Dwayne Johnson received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Film, and Emily Blunt received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress, both representing career-defining recognition for work far outside their typical commercial roles. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, recognizing the prosthetics and transformation work involved in recreating the battered physical state of Mark Kerr across different stages of his career. The film earned 71% on Rotten Tomatoes from 306 critics and 65/100 on Metacritic, reflecting "generally favorable" reviews, and received a B- CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences.

Critical Reception

The Smashing Machine drew strong praise from critics who engaged with its ambitions as a character study. Benny Safdie's direction was praised for its physical intensity and the intimacy it brought to both the fighting sequences and the quieter domestic scenes between Johnson and Blunt. Johnson's performance was widely described as the best of his career, with critics noting that his physical imposingness made the vulnerability he expressed as Kerr all the more striking. Emily Blunt received equally strong notices for her portrayal of Dawn Staples. The 16mm visual approach was praised for its period authenticity. Critics who were more reserved noted that the film's episodic structure made some sections feel disconnected, and that the overall narrative arc was less propulsive than Safdie's earlier crime films. The commercial disappointment did not diminish the critical consensus that The Smashing Machine is a serious and accomplished work.