The Safdie brothers’ breakup in January 2024 marked the end of one era and the start of a new one without their joint films. Benny Safdie is extending his acting career with noteworthy projects while following his own path. Although it hasn’t been officially proven, there are speculations that Josh and Benny Safdie had a personal disagreement that may have contributed to their separation and possibly led to the cancellation of the future movie starring Adam Sandler.
Now with the release of ‘The Smashing Machine,’ starring Dwayne Johnson, opening weekend preceded a victorious surprise premiere of “Marty Supreme,” A24’s other 2025 sports drama helmed by Safdie, at the New York Film Festival. The coincidence sparked repeated conjecture that the brothers, who had been professional collaborators until Benny shot the 2023 TV series “The Curse,” had split in animosity. Safdie’s award speech in Venice, in which he acknowledged his mother, stepfather, wife, and children — but not Josh — fueled the discussion.
“I was talking about this movie. That’s where that came from .” He describes the rumors of a schism as “shocking. Like, Oh, wow, that’s weird.”
“Did people react like that? That’s so weird,” Blunt added, “You are allowed to be a single entity.”
The director further continued, “We did great things together, and we learned in that process, and it just came to a place where it’s like, What do you want to explore, and what do I want to explore? And you just do that.” However, in this context, Safdie has not yet seen “Marty Supreme,” but claims his brother has watched “The Smashing Machine.”
