HBO Max announced the streaming release date for The Smashing Machine, A24’s sports drama starring Dwayne Johnson.
The Smashing Machine HBO Max Date
Johnson’s fans will get to relive the MMA drama in the new year.
The Smashing Machine begins streaming on January 23, 2026.
Johnson plays Mark Kerr, an amateur wrestler who turns to MMA in the late ’90s. Kerr became a pioneer in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pride Fighting Championships.
Outside of the ring, Kerr battles drug addiction and a tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend, Dawn Staples (Emily Blunt).
The Smashing Machine’s ensemble features Ryan Bader as Mark Coleman, Kerr’s best friend and MMA star; Bas Rutten as himself, a former mixed martial artist and Kerr’s trainer; and Oleksandr Usyk as Igor Vovchanchyn, one of Kerr’s rivals.
Benny Safdie wrote and directed The Smashing Machine. The A24 drama is based on Kerr’s life and the HBO documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr.
The Smashing Machine premiered at the Venice Film Festival to a positive reception. Safdie won the Silver Lion for Best Director.
Johnson also received some of the best reviews of his career.
Despite the critical acclaim, The Smashing Machine disappointed at the box office, grossing $21 million worldwide on a $50 million budget.
In an Instagram post, Johnson acknowledged the film’s box office struggles, while
“In our storytelling world, you can’t control box office results — but what I realized you can control is your performance, and your commitment to completely disappear and go elsewhere,” Johnson wrote on Instagram. “And I will always run to that opportunity. It was my honor to transform in this role for my director Benny Safdie. Thank you brother for believing in me. Truth is this film has changed my life.”
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Dwayne Johnson’s Awards Chances
Salute 🫡 check to my brother and fellow @goldenglobes nomineee @KevinHart4real.
Our first Globes’ nominations and it feels absolutely amazing, blessed and a true honor. Love U man and cheers to always putting in the hard work, to deliver the good work 🥂 pic.twitter.com/oYbGlgmNYE— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) December 22, 2025
For the first time in his career, Johnson finds himself in awards contention.
Johnson received his first Golden Globe nomination — Best Actor in a Drama. Polymarket puts Johnson’s odds at +1900 to win.
Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent is currently the favorite (-245) to win in that category.
There are 12 men nominated for Best Actor at the Golden Globes. Only five will be selected for the Oscars.
Two of those spots — Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another and Timothee Chalamet in Marty Supreme — are set in stone.
Moura will likely get the third spot. Michael B. Jordan feels like a strong candidate for the fourth spot.
It’s the fifth spot that is up for grabs. The likely candidates are Johnson, Joel Edgerton in Train Dreams, and Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon.
