Overview
- Johnson told Esquire on Thursday that not receiving a Best Actor nomination for The Smashing Machine "lit a fire in my spine" and that he wishes he had been nominated.
- The Smashing Machine won the Venice Film Festival’s Silver Lion and earned an extended standing ovation there, and critics and filmmakers widely praised Johnson’s prosthetics-heavy, transformative turn.
- Despite the festival acclaim, the sports drama underperformed at the box office, earning roughly $11.7 million in North America and about $21 million worldwide against a reported $50 million budget.
- The film drew Golden Globe nominations for Johnson and Emily Blunt but received only limited Academy recognition when Oscar nominees were announced earlier this year.
- Johnson says the snub has pushed him to return to work and pursue more awards-focused projects, including a Safdie reunion plus planned collaborations with Darren Aronofsky and Martin Scorsese, which could shift his career toward prestige filmmaking and renewed campaign efforts.