Sylvester Stallone’s two most iconic film franchises have one major difference: Rambo failed in a way that Rocky never could. While Rocky did come first, the first film came out in 1976, and 1982’s First Blood and subsequent Rambo sequels gained a comparable following to the previous franchise. Despite this, the Rambo series still carries the record of Sylvester Stallone, who will probably never ruin Rocky.
Sylvester Stallone’s first major hit was Rocky, written by Stallone and in which he was the main character. The film follows small-time boxer Rocky Balboa, who is given the opportunity to fight Apollo Creed for the world heavyweight title.
The film’s critical and box office success spawned a huge franchise, with sequels to Rocky and its spin-off Creed still being produced. Stallone achieved similar success a few years later with First Blood, which follows Vietnam veteran John Rambo as he is pursued by police in a small town in Washington. The Rambo series was as successful as Rocky, and the Rambo movies came out as recently as 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood.
While both Rocky and Rambo have infiltrated the pop culture zeitgeist, Rambo is the only one that was a box office failure. Rambo: Last Blood grossed $91.5 million on a $50 million budget, not even making back half its budget.
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Since $50 million is just the production budget, if you take into account advertising and other expenses, it’s possible that Lionsgate even lost money on Last Blood. “Rambo” fared much tougher at the box office than “Rocky” since “Creed II” came out less than a year before “Last Blood,” but it earned $214.1 million on a $50 million budget. The oft-forgotten 2008 Rambo revival brought in just $113.2 on an estimated budget of $47.5 million, just over double its production costs. While their successes with critics have varied, all eight Rocky films have been box office successes, and Creed 3 appears to be another surefire success for the studio. However, Rambo was a Sylvester Stallone series that will forever be tarnished by box office failures.
Why Rambo Isn’t As Big As Rocky
There are several key reasons why Rambo isn’t as big as Rocky, even though Rocky has been around longer than Rambo. The main reason has to do with each franchise’s respective stories. Rocky is about a boxer, with the subsequent movies following Rocky Balboa’s fighting career as he works his way up the boxing world. Audiences who are a fan of the character can believably understand why the various sequels are made, as it makes sense for a boxer to continue boxing tougher and newer opponents.
The Rambo sequels, on the other hand, do not logically follow First Blood. First Blood is about John Rambo running from the police, setting traps and killing people, and ending with him finally being arrested. Viewers can only suspend their disbelief, and many viewers don’t feel the need to watch Rambo sequels that involve contrived ways to get Rambo to fight again.
Another reason for their different successes is the characters. Rocky has such iconic characters as Rocky Balboa himself, Adrian, Apollo Creed, Ivan Drago and others, whose
names have become household names. Aside from John Rambo, there aren’t many Rambo characters that audiences want to see expanded upon. The Rocky films have also been more consistent than the Rambo films, with Rocky having more films in regular release since the original was released in 1976. Considering all of these various factors, it’s perhaps no surprise that Rambo is the Sylvester Stallone franchise that should carry an unwanted box office record.