Additional reporting by Chris Beachum
For her role as Dawn Staples, the wife of MMA fighter Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine, Emily Blunt will be submitted for awards consideration in the Best Supporting Actress category, Gold Derby has learned.
The news comes just a few weeks ahead of the release of the gritty sports drama on Oct. 3 and hot off the heels of the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where Benny Safdie took home the Silver Lion award for directing.
The category is not new for Blunt, who received an Oscar nomination for playing the partner of another biopic’s subject in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and previously made the cut in a good nomination from the Golden Globes for her work in The Devil Wears Prada.
At the moment, Blunt is sitting just outside the top five in the category in 8th place, according to Gold Derby’s Oscar nomination predictions, but the field is tight. Blunt’s percentages put her within striking distance of three potential nominees just ahead of her: Teyana Taylor in One Battle After Another, Amy Madigan in Weapons, and Wunmi Mosaku in Sinners.
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LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: Radhika Apte attends the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2025 at The Royal Festival Hall on February 16, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 05: Katy O’Brian attends Feeding America Hosts Volunteering Opportunity At Los Angeles Regional Food Bank For National Volunteer Month at Los Angeles Regional Food Bank on April 05, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Feeding America and Los Angeles Regional Food Bank)
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ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MAY 26: (L-R) Ruby Cruz, Ellie Bamber and Erin Kellyman attend the studio showcase panel at Star Wars Celebration for “Willow” in Anaheim, California on May 26, 2022. An all-new action-adventure fantasy series based on the classic 1988 film. “Willow” will premiere November 30, 2002, exclusively on Disney+. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
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Blunt’s co-star, Dwayne Johnson, is currently positioned more comfortably with his nomination probability. After rave reviews coming out of the early Fall festivals, the former professional wrestler is ranked fourth most likely to receive a nomination for Best Actor, just ahead of Leonardo DiCaprio for Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.
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Their director, however, is coming up short in terms of the odds. Benny Sadfie ranked in 15th at the moment, but with plenty of time before nominations voting begins on Jan. 12, 2026, all of these races could see major shifts before then.