Sylvester Stallone Nearly Lost His Role in $1.7 Billion Franchise, Rejected $265,000 Offer to Stay Away From Rocky Movies

Many big franchises exist currently in Hollywood that are loved by people worldwide. But this doesn’t mean the value of old franchises has reduced. Rocky movies are one of the most classic franchise films that exist in the sports/drama genre. The films of the franchise were created by one of the most versatile actors and filmmakers Sylvester Stallone. He use to play the role of Rocky Balboa in these American Classics.

In the year 1976, the first film Rocky made its debut and soon became a fan favorite. Fans also started liking the cinematographic boxing shots, unique storyline, and powerful character of Sylvester Stallone. But only a few people know that he was about to lose his one lucky shot at playing the titular character.

Sylvester Stallone Almost Quit The Role Of Rocky Balboa

Sylvester Stallone As Rocky Balboa
Fans couldn’t have imagined anyone else in the role of the famous leading boxer in the Rocky films. Back then, there was a time when producers were ready to pay Sylvester Stallone a hefty amount to give up on the beloved role. In one of his old interviews with BBC, he mentioned he was offered a lot of money to disassociate from the franchise.
“It went up to about $265,000 … to stay away. I knew that if I sold it … even for $500,000, I knew that after the money was gone I would become very bitter for having sold out because my one love was to at least fail on my own terms.”
Obviously, he didn’t accept the deal and continued doing what his mind agreed to without thinking about the million-dollar money he was offered to quit.

Earnings of Rocky Franchise

Sylvester Stallone In And As Rocky
The Rocky films are about a boxer who comes from a middle-class background and makes a choice to step into the squared ring against the undefeated heavyweight champion Apollo Creed. One match with an unbeatable opponent raises respect for him in the minds of fans. There are in total of six Rocky films. The names are Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV: Rocky vs Drag, Rocky V, and Rocky Balboa.

All of these franchise films have crossed the mark of $1.7B worldwide. Recently the release of Creed III broke the record of the past Creed and Rocky films. It earned a total of $224.3M on an international level. The Michael B Jordan-led film is a spinoff of the Rocky movies. Currently, the directors are looking forward to expanding the franchise and exploring new characters.

Sylvester Stallone’s Upcoming Films

Sylvester Stallone
The Samaritan actor has earned a great amount of success in much less time in Hollywood. He is one of the biggest Actors, filmmakers, and screenwriters in the industry. He has been a part of many big franchises like Marvel, Escape Plan, Rambo, The Expendables, and others. The upcoming films of the star include The Expendables 4 and Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3.