Dwayne Johnson is scheduled to descend on the Croisette for a buyers presentation to promote A24’s The Smashing Machine that Screen understands will take place on Tuesday (May 14).
The studio is producing and financing Benny Safdie’s biopic of the turbulent life of MMA fighter Mark Kerr and has high hopes for the project that sees it reunite with its Uncut Gems co-director.
Johnson’s appearance on the Croisette recalls pre-Covid years when A-listers frequently attended Cannes to meet buyers.
The Smashing Machine marks a step up in terms of scale for A24. Furthermore, industry sources regard it as a potential awards play for Johnson, whose credits include the Fast And Furious universe, the Jungle Cruise and Moana franchises, and the upcoming holiday release Red One at Amazon MGM Studios.
Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions acquired the rights to the project in 2019. The film will chart two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament Champion Kerr’s turbulent personal and professional life including bouts of addiction.
Emily Blunt, who starred with Johnson in Jungle Cruise, is reportedly in talks to play his wife.
The Smashing Machine joins an A24 sales slate that is understood to include Zambian-Welsh filmmaker Rungano Nyoni’s Un Certain Regard selection On Becoming A Guinea Fowl, which is produced by Element Pictures with backing from A24 and BBC Film. It is Nyoni’s follow-up to her debut and 2017 Directors’ Fortnight entry I Am Not A Witch.
Last month A24 celebrated its highest opening weekend in North America when Alex Garland’s Civil War opened at number one on $25.7m. The dystopian thriller crossed $100m at the worldwide box office on Monday.
A24 did not return calls to comment on Johnson’s Cannes plans or its sales slate.
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