United Kingdom, Sept. 2 -- Dwayne Johnson was in floods of tears as The Smashing Machine received a 15-minute standing ovation.

The 53-year-old actor - who rose to fame as The Rock in WWE before swapping wrestling for Hollywood - has earned high praise for his performance as MMA fighter Mark Kerr in the new A24 movie, which got its premiere at Venice Film Festival on Monday (01.09.25) night.

Dwayne was seen crying as the Lido rose to their feet to applaud the film, while he stood between co-star Emily Blunt and Kerr himself.

The ovation was one of the longest so far at this year's festival.

Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Steoodeh wrote on X: "Dwayne Johnson weeps during the 15-minute #Venezia2025 standing ovation for The Smashing Ma...