Hollywood veterans Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis are widely regarded as 3 of the greatest action heroes of all time, having gifted some of the most immersive pieces to the cinema. That’s why, when they collaborated for The Expendables films series, the result was nothing short of a pure blissful experience for audiences and big bucks for the actors.
However, years before they even started working together in this action-packed franchise created by Sly — nearly two decades, to be precise — this star-studded trio collaborated for a joint project in 1991 to earn millions of dollars merely from promotion. How? Well, simply because this project was the themed restaurant chain Planet Hollywood, investing in which brought in big bucks for the trio.
Arnie, Sly, and Bruno Joined Forces Before The Expendables as Well
Years ago, in October 1991, the themed restaurant chain Planet Hollywood International Inc. was brought to life by Robert Earl in New York City. And since it needed promotion, the ones approached to help it grow were none other than the Golden trio of Arnie, Sly, and Bruno.
Or, to be more precise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis.
According to what Schwarzenegger wrote in his 2012 memoir Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, the three were some of the greatest actors of the time. Thus, Keith Barish and Earl pitched the idea of this restaurant chain to Arnie to bring him on board to promote the same.
As the Terminator star shared in his book, the idea was pitched to him as (via Essentially Sports):
A magnet for people who loved American movie stars. Movie memorabilia and props would be the décor—like Tom Cruise’s flight suit from Top Gun, Jayne Mansfield’s swimsuit from The Girl Can’t Help It, and a motorcycle from The Terminator.
Since Arnold Schwarzenegger liked the sound of it, he agreed to become their business partner, joining forces with Stallone and Willis for the same. As per what he wrote in his memoir:
I joined Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis in New York that October for the official launch of a glitzy new moneymaking machine… It was the beginning of an empire.
Needless to say, this moneymaking empire opened strong and helped the trio make big bucks the same way they did with their star-studded movies.
However, things would soon tumble down for the restaurant chain after its heightened success.
This was because, after going public in 1996, it faced tremendous competition in the market, recording a reported $40 million loss before a loss of $244 million and eventually declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1999, as per Funding Universe.
But that didn’t matter too much to the actors, considering how they already made money through the employee stock ownership plan they were hired through — something that allowed them to make millions, as Schwarzenegger shared in his book.
After Planet Hollywood, The Expendables Brought in Big Bucks for the Trio
While Planet Hollywood was one thing that reportedly left them with big bucks, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis went on to earn even more money through their collaboration for The Expendables 1, 2, and 3.
The first film in the franchise created by Stallone featured Arnie and Bruno in a cameo and still made a whopping $273.47 million at the box offices worldwide on its budget of $80 million, as per Box Office Mojo.
Then there was the second film, which featured the trio in prominent roles and grossed $314.97 million globally on its budget of $100 million (as per Box Office Mojo).
This was followed by the third movie, which did not include Willis due to reported conflicts with the paycheck, but still made $209.46 million on its budget of $100 million, according to the figures reported by The Numbers.
As for the salaries the trio received for their contributions to the same: Willis reportedly made a sum of $500,000 for his overall contribution (as per Celebrity Net Worth), while Schwarzenegger reportedly went home with $10 million, according to Screen Rant.
But the highest winner was, obviously, Stallone, who made the actual big bucks through a total of a stunning $48 million off the first three movies, according to Parade.
You can stream The Expendables 1, 2, and 3 on Prime Video.
