After getting a flat fee for acting on the project, Sylvester Stallone almost ended up with a pittance from his Rocky franchise.
The boxing icon might have taken home a paltry sum for Rocky if he didn’t do some hardline negotiating.
Stallone opened up on his earnings from the first three Rocky movies to reveal a contract clause that made him a millionaire from his 1976 original.
But it almost wasn’t to be for the Hollywood superstar.
Offered separate fees for his screenplay and starring role, Stallone was initially dismissed for the part of Rocky Balboa.
Sylvester Stallone negotiations
Eventually, Stallone fought to claim the headliner for himself, thus avoiding only getting paid $25,000 simply for the screenplay.
Shrewdly, ‘Sly’ also negotiated a percentage of the Box Office takings. A move that saw Stallone take home seven figures.
“I got ten net points. It was probably the first and last time anyone ever saw those pay off,” Stallone explained to Variety. “I got $35,000 for the first one. The screenplay was about $25,000.
“[In all, I made] About $2.5 million, which for me was unbelievable. I was the luckiest man in the world.
“You have to understand that in the year before I did ‘Rocky,’” my total income was $1,400 for the entire year. I got $35 a week as an usher. About $100 a month.”
Stallone added his paycheck for his big-screen break: “Then [I got] $360 a week before taxes.
“It shot for only 25 days. Luckily there were the WGA minimums. I made about $2,000 for acting.”
Rocky
Obviously, ‘Rocky I‘ went global and made Stallone a vast star, not to mention an Academy Award in 1977 for Best Film.
Therefore, you’d think Stallone would have made millions to sign on for ‘Rocky II.’ Not so.
“The second deal was for $75,000 all-in. About $120,000 in total,” confirmed Stallone, who again negotiated himself a net points deal to take home another massive payday.
It wasn’t until the likes of ‘Rocky III’ and ‘Rambo – First Blood’ in 1982 that the New Yorker could command those multi-million dollar advances.
But given that Rocky as a whole entity has grossed over two billion dollars, Stallone didn’t get what he deserved from the franchise he created.
During the 1980s, Stallone made a name for himself as the top name in the world, alongside former bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Stallone and ‘Arnie’ fit that mold in a world where more prominent was better and subsequently dominated the action-star scene.
Both still act today, but the days of commanding million-dollar checks are long gone.