Arnold Schwarzenegger became a box office juggernaut in the 80s and 90s, and 1987’s Predator played a huge part in his success. On 13th June, The Arnold Sports Festival page posted a clip of the genre-defining sci-fi action on Instagram. The date marked the 37th anniversary of the original Predator starring The Austrian Oak.
The 1987 film was a milestone in the seven-time Mr. Olympia’s Hollywood career. It became an incredible success and the bodybuilding legend’s second sci-fi success after The Terminator in 1984.
With a production budget of around $18 million, the film earned $98.2 million at the worldwide box office. Schwarzenegger’s film earned 5.5 times its production budget.
The film’s antagonist has become one of the most explored characters in cinema and pop culture. The climactic showdown between Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Predator lives on as one of the greatest moments in action cinema.
It inspired such intrigue that the original Arnold Schwarzenegger film spawned several sequels with different actors. The Predator was notoriously difficult to film but helped Schwarzenegger become one of the two most dominant leading men in Hollywood during the 80s and 90s.
However, unlike The Terminator sequels, the actor didn’t star in any of the Predator follow-ups. The lasting power of the franchise became evident once again in 2022 when Prey earned universal praise. Two new Predator films are in development. The Arnold Sports Festival page also asked fans to “Drop your favorite quote in the comments.”
Fans Celebrated The Arnold Schwarzenegger film
Arnold Schwarzenegger fans obliged the request. “If it bleeds we can kill it,” turned out to be one of the fan favorites. Schwarzenegger’s character Dutch said the line after wounding the Predator in the film. However, others also quoted lines from the characters. “‘Dug in like an Alabama tick.’ still used today,” commented one fan. That one-liner belonged to Jesse Ventura’s character. However, others were too busy praising Arnold Schwarzenegger and the film.RELATED:
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“That warrior Roar!!!” commented seven-time Mr. Olympia Phil Heath referring to Arnie’s call to the Predator before the showdown. “The greatest movie ever made!!!” commented another fan. Meanwhile, one fan made an interesting comparison with Sylvester Stallone’s film The Expendables franchise. “The True Expendables movie from 87,” wrote the fan. This may be a reference to both films having highly trained military operators as the central characters.