‘The Rock’ Dwayne Johnson’s flip as UFC icon Mark Kerr in A24’s The Smashing Machine sparked a whopping 15-minute standing ovation on the Venice Movie Pageant, inserting it squarely among the many most celebrated screenings in fashionable competition historical past.
The Rock and The Smashing Machine
15-Minute Standing Ovation
At Venice on September 1, the viewers rose to applaud The Rock Johnson’s gritty efficiency, alongside director Benny Safdie and co-star Emily Blunt. The ovation stretched uninterrupted for a full quarter of an hour, a uncommon feat outdoors Cannes and Venice’s most lauded premieres.
Movie festivals usually reward premieres with applause lasting two to 5 minutes. At Sundance, for instance, indie revelations typically earn three-minute cheers earlier than dispersing. Venice has seen longer bursts – Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Subsequent Door just lately held an 18-minute document on the Lido – however competition gold nonetheless glitters brightest on the Croisette.
Here’s a countdown of the longest standing ovations in competition annals:
- 22 minutes – Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) set the bar with a fairy-tale horror that merged folklore and historic trauma.
- 20 minutes – Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) enthusiastic about its mix of polemic and provocation.
- 19 minutes – Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Worth (2025) introduced audiences to their toes in Cannes’s Grand Théâtre Lumière.
- 18 minutes – Jeff Nichols’s Mud (2012) delivered youthful journey and metaphorical depth.
- 17 minutes – Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon (2016) fused fashion and subtext.
- quarter-hour – As soon as Upon a Time in America (1984)
The Smashing Machine follows Kerr’s rise from newbie wrestling standout to UFC Heavyweight Event Champion, chronicling his battles with habit and private turmoil. Benny Safdie’s script and route pull no punches because the movie blends uncooked struggle choreography with intimate home struggles. Emily Blunt portrays Daybreak Staples with guarded compassion, balancing Kerr’s volatility with quiet power.
After its Venice debut, The Smashing Machine will display at Toronto on September 8 earlier than touchdown in U.S. and Canadian theaters on October 3, 2025, through A24. Its competition reception suggests each vital acclaim and viewers pleasure poised to hold the movie into awards season buzz.
In an age when cameras time applause and trade rags tout ovation lengths as prestige metrics, Johnson’s latest effort proves that a wrestler-turned-actor can still slam a cinematic performance to the mat—and keep viewers standing long after the credits roll.
Pan’s Labyrinth held its applause record for nearly two decades, but now Dwayne Johnson’s portrayal has joined that legendarium, reminding us that sometimes the loudest accolades come from the simplest human gesture: a hearty, sustained ovation.
