Although Stallone is credited for creating the characters from Rocky it is Irwin Winkler who owns the rights to both the Rocky and Creed franchises. This has resulted in the actor feuding publicly over the direction the franchise has been taken in.
His initial salary for "Rocky" was a modest $35,000, but with his contract guaranteeing him 10 points on the back end, he ultimately earned around $2.5 million due to the film's massive success. The success of "Rocky" paved the way for Stallone to become one of the highest-paid action stars of the 1980s and 1990s.
As one of the most celebrated films of the 20th century, Rocky is many things. It's an independent film, made for less than a million dollars and starring a then-unknown Sylvester Stallone. It was a box office sensation, raking in $225 million—more than any other film in 1976.
Sylvester Stallone Owns No Piece of the 'Rocky' Franchise
Why did Stallone sell Rocky?
Stallone — who wrote the screenplay for the film in three days, before selling the rights to producers Winkler and Robert Chartoff — said his anger came from the fact that the original deal deprived him of an equity stake in the franchise, a longterm asset that could be passed to his children after his death.
The Austrian-born actor is highly respected by the bodybuilding community, as he ultimately got to make movies because of his physique. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a fortune of 450 million, surpassing Stallone by 50 million.
Paulie unknowingly had Rocky sign a power of attorney over to Rocky's investment accountant, who had embezzled and squandered all of his money on real estate deals gone sour. In addition, the accountant had failed to pay Rocky's taxes over the past six years and his mansion had been mortgaged by $400,000.
Stallone starred and co-wrote the five films of the Rambo franchise, and the fourth one he also directed. Stallone wrote, directed and took the lead role in the first installment of The Expendables films.
Stallone previously paid tribute to their decades-long friendship following news of his death. “Today is an incredibly sad day for me. I'm so torn up, I can't even tell you. I'm just trying to hold it in because Carl Weathers was such an integral part of my life, my success — everything about it.
In 2019, Stallone accused Irwin Winkler, who has produced every Rocky film and spinoff, of withholding ownership rights to the massive franchise. Stallone said he had “zero ownership of “Rocky”, despite creating and writing all six movies (via Variety).
The 76-year-old actor said in an interview that he did not participate in the filming of the movie because the story had been given a direction with which he did not agree. "That's a regretful situation because I know what it could have been," Stallone told THR about disagreeing with the new film's tone.
Although he earned net points on the original movie — which cost just over $1 million to produce and grossed $225 million globally — and received first-dollar gross on the early sequels, Stallone does not maintain the rights to the characters.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's net worth in 2024 is estimated to be $450 million. His money comes largely from super-savvy contract negotiations for his movies, as well as from his business ventures and real-estate investments.
After returning home, Rocky and Adrian discover they are bankrupt after Paulie was fooled into signing a "power of attorney" over to Rocky's accountant, who squandered all of his money on real estate deals gone sour and failed to pay Rocky's taxes over the previous six years.
Rocky, American boxing film, released in 1976, that was the highest-grossing movie of that year, earning more than $117 million at the box office. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won three, including best picture, and made its writer and lead actor, Sylvester Stallone, a star.
According to Box Office Mojo, Rocky IV, Rocky III and the original Rocky lead the list of top-grossing boxing movies, earning $127 million, $125 million and $117 million as a lifetime gross in United States theaters.
Read on. (Note: ESPN Classic will be showing "Rocky" at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday.) In Reel Life: Rocky Balboa is a 30-year-old club fighter. In Real Life: Sylvester Stallone was inspired by Chuck Wepner, a 35-year-old club fighter who also happened to be the No.
Creed III made a big splash in its opening weekend box office, earning the biggest debut of any movie in the whole Rocky franchise. While the two Creed movies saw moderate success at the box office, Creed III marks Adonis Creed actor Michael B.
Rocky was shot on a mere $1 Million budget—that's pennies in Hollywood. Here are a few ways they cut corners: The artist who created the poster of Rocky for the big fight painted red shorts with white stripes, instead of white with red.
