Sylvester Stallone is “furious” he has such a small financial stake in the Rocky film franchise.
The actor has earned millions from his eight Rocky Balboa-linked films, including the recent Creed and Creed II spin-offs, but he is still sore over the money he isn’t getting.
While negotiating the contract for the original 1976 film, Rocky, which he wrote and starred in, he lost out on equity in the entire franchise, which would have made him a part-owner of all features in the series.
“I have zero ownership of Rocky,” Sly told Variety. “Every word, every syllable, every grammatical error (in the contract) was all my fault. It was shocking that it never came to be, but I was told, ‘Hey, you got paid, so what are you complaining about?’ I was furious.”
Stallone has never been able to forgive himself for the lack of business savvy and naivete he had at the start of his career, which cost him a stake in the Rocky fortune, but he adds, “You don’t want to ruffle the feathers of the golden goose.”
His remarks have been met with criticism by some of his Rocky colleagues, with one anonymous associate telling the outlet Stallone has earned tens of millions in profit from his work in franchise installments as writer, star, and producer over the years.
“He made money from every angle, and still does, so I don’t know what he’s complaining about,” his colleague stated.
The original Rocky film cost roughly $1 million to make and has grossed global net profits of $225 million to date.
