Dwayne Johnson’s The Smashing Machine Oscar nomination you might’ve missed

Arguably one of the highest-rated films of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s career and critically acclaimed, The Smashing Machine directed by Benny Safdie, released in 2025, received thunderous reviews but failed to perform at the box office. Despite the poor box office performance, Johnson and his co-star Emily Blunt were both nominated for the Golden Globe awards. However, both stars failed to gain a nomination for the 2026 Academy Awards.

Although fans were left contemplating their loss of nomination, The Smashing Machine instead gained an Oscar nomination, which several fans missed out on. Kazu Hiro and Johnson’s makeup team have been nominated for the Academy Award for their work in The Smashing Machine. Johnson shared the story on his social media while addressing the achievement.

“A proud and heartfelt congratulations to the one and only [kazu studios] Kazu Hiro & my make up team for their ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATION for THE SMASHING MACHINE. Kazu’s prosthetic mastery is legendary and his meticulous artistry will forever inspire me and inspire all of us who deeply love and respect our craft of storytelling and transformation,” Johnson wrote.

“To become Mark Kerr, I had to transform and “live” in his skin for many months. Kazu and team created that rare opportunity for me and I can’t wait for our next journey together. Congratulations Kazu, Glen Griffin, Bjoern Rehbein on this incredibly inspiring honor. Go get em! dj [clinking glasses emoji].”

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In The Smashing Machine, “The Rock” played former MMA and UFC star Mark Kerr, with Blunt playing his then-girlfriend Dawn Staples. Johnson is again set to star with Safdie in his upcoming project, Lizard Music, while his other projects include Jumanji 3, Fast X: Part 2, the live-action version of Moana, and an unnamed project with Martin Scorsese.

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