The Expendables 3 (2014)

The Expendables 3 is a 2014 American action film directed by Patrick Hughes and written by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt and Sylvester Stallone. It is the third installment in The Expendables franchise and the sequel to The Expendables 2 (2012). The film features an ensemble cast of largely action film stars including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Antonio Banderas, Randy Couture, Kelsey Grammer, Terry Crews, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, Kellan Lutz, Victor Ortiz , Harrison Ford, and Mel Gibson.

The story follows the mercenary group known as The Expendables as they come into conflict with ruthless arms dealer Conrad Stonebanks, the Expendables’ co-founder, who is determined to destroy the team. The film premiered in London on August 4, 2014 and was released theatrically on August 15, 2014, by Lionsgate. Unlike the first two films in the franchise, The Expendables 3 received a PG-13 rating instead of an R rating, which upset many fans of the franchise. Partly due to negative critical reviews and being leaked three weeks before its scheduled release, the film grossed $214 million worldwide on an estimated $90–100 million budget, becoming the lowest-grossing film of the trilogy. A sequel, The Expendables 4, is scheduled to be released in 2023.

Plot.

The Expendables—led by Barney Ross and formed by Lee Christmas, Gunner Jensen, and Toll Road—extract former member Doctor Death, a knives specialist, and team medic, from a military prison during his transfer on a train. They recruit Doctor Death to assist them in intercepting a shipment of bombs meant to be delivered to a warlord in Somalia. Arriving there, they reunite with Hale Caesar, who directs them to the drop point, where Ross is surprised to find out that the arms trader providing the bombs is Conrad Stonebanks, a former co-founder of the Expendables who went rogue and was presumed dead. In the ensuing firefight, The Expendables kill all but Stonebanks, who shoots Caesar. They are forced to retreat when Stonebanks drops a glide bomb on them from his helicopter, and Caesar is severely injured.

Back in the United States, CIA operative Max Drummer, the Expendables’ new missions manager, gives Ross a mission to capture Stonebanks to bring him to the International Criminal Court to be tried for war crimes. Blaming himself for Caesar’s injuries, Ross disbands the Expendables and leaves for Las Vegas, where he enlists retired mercenary-turned-recruiter Bonaparte to help him find a new team of younger mercenaries. The recruits include former U.S. Marine John Smilee, nightclub bouncer Luna, computer expert Thorn, and weapons expert Mars. Skilled sharpshooter Galgo asks to be included in the team, but Ross turns him down. The four new team members rendezvous with Ross’s rival Trench Mauser, returning a favor for Ross. Drummer has traced Stonebanks to Bucharest, where he is set to make an arms deal.

The Expendables 4 (2023) Biography, Development, Filming, Marketing, Cast, Trailer.

Ross and the new recruits infiltrate an office building Stonebanks is using and, having to kill a few men in the process including arms buyer Goran Vata, capture Stonebanks. In transit, Stonebanks taunts Ross and explains why he betrayed The Expendables. Ross nearly kills him to shut him up but, despite Stonebanks egging him on, he stands down. Stonebanks’ men catch up to them, with the aid of his GPS Tracker, and fire a missile at the team’s van. Ross is thrown into a river, while Smilee, Luna, Thorn, and Mars are captured by Stonebanks’ crew. Ross kills Stonebanks’ retrieval team and escapes. Stonebanks sends Ross a video, challenging Ross to come after him and giving him his location in Azmenistan. While preparing to leave and mount a rescue alone, Ross is found by Galgo, who offers his services again.

Ross accepts, later accompanied by the veteran Expendables. They rescue the young mercenaries, only to learn from Stonebanks that he has rigged the place with explosives with only 45 seconds left for them to explode. As both the young and veteran Expendables fight one another, Ross convinces them to work together to take down Stonebanks. As the final battle begins, Thorn uses a jammer device to delay the countdown, giving them just under half an hour before detonation. Stonebanks orders the Azmenistan army to attack the building with full force, including tanks and attack helicopters. Drummer and Trench arrive in a helicopter to help, alongside returning Expendables member Yin Yang.

Development and writing.

In March 2012, cast member Randy Couture said a third installment of The Expendables might begin production in late 2012 after the release of The Expendables 2. In April 2012, Steven Seagal said he was offered a role in a third film. In August 2012, producer Avi Lerner confirmed that Nicolas Cage had been signed for the then-potential sequel. He also said that the producers intended to bring back the series’ stars, attempting to have Mickey Rourke reprise his role, and had approached Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, and Wesley Snipes to play new roles. Sylvester Stallone said “We are thinking about different concepts—the third one is the hardest. The second is the natural progression. The third, that’s when the air gets rare. We’re thinking ambitiously about it,

you now have to give audiences something they don’t expect at all, Maybe, even going into a different genre”. Also in August, Chuck Norris said he would not return for a sequel. On August 13, 2012, Jean-Claude Van Damme indicated that Stallone might include him in The Expendables 3 as Claude Vilain, brother of Jean Vilain. On October 31, 2012, it was confirmed that Nu Image and Millennium Films were in the process of pre-selling international distribution rights for The Expendables 3. On December 19, 2012, it was reported that Jackie Chan had agreed to join the sequel on the condition that he would have more than a minor role. Chan later dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.

Filming.

Principal photography began on August 19, 2013, in Bulgaria and at the Nu Boyana Film studio in Sofia and ended on October 22. In September 2013, Terry Crews revealed in an interview that Jason Statham survived an on-set mishap when the truck he was driving plunged into the Black Sea after its brakes had failed. In a November 2013 interview, Randy Couture confirmed that filming had finished and that discussions for a fourth Expendables film were taking place. Much of the film was shot on set in Wombwell Woods, Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

The Expendables All 4 Series (franchise)

Marketing.

On December 19, 2013, the first teaser trailer got released with the intent of showcasing the large cast of the movie. At 2014 CinemaCon, the official poster of the film was shown for the first time, although it only slightly differs from material shown before, featuring a white background instead of a black one. The marketing scheme of putting a huge emphasis on the film’s ensemble cast of famous action actors was continued in early April when 16 character posters of the film’s cast were released and divided over four websites for maximum exposure. One day later, the first trailer with actual footage from the film premiered, again highlighting the film’s huge cast, being referred to as a “roll call trailer” by Lionsgate. At the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Millennium Films hosted a special event promoting the film at the Carlton Hotel with Sylvester Stallone,

Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Randy Couture, Kellan Lutz, Victor Ortiz, Glen Powell and director Patrick Hughes attending. The event lasted the entire day and featured the cast driving down the Croisette in tanks. On June 5, a new TV promo with new footage was released. Instead of highlighting the all-star cast as the previous ones, this trailer focused on the new additions to the cast, prominently Lutz, Ronda Rousey and Ortiz, contrasting their young characters with the more experienced ones of Stallone and Grammer. The same day, Stallone also released a behind the scenes video via his Twitter.

Home media.

The Expendables 3 was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 25, 2014, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray Combo-Pack contains an extended version of the film accompanying the theatrical version as well as behind-the-scenes featurettes, a blooper reel and a Dolby Atmos multi-channel track. The regular DVD release includes only the theatrical cut.

Box office.

The Expendables 3 grossed $39.3 million in North America and $175.3 million in other territories for a total gross of $214.6 million. The film was released on August 15, 2014, in the United States and earned $875,000 during its late night Thursday screenings from 2,200 locations. It did better than its predecessors The Expendables ($870,000) and The Expendables 2 ($685,000). However, its first showing was at 7 P.M., whereas the previous films had their first showings at midnight. It earned $5.9 million on its first day below the $13 million opening day of The Expendables and $10 million opening day of The Expendables 2. The film grossed $5.7 million on its second day and $4.2 million on its third day for a three-day total of $15.8 million.

Every Expendables Character Who Was Supposed To Die

One possible reason for this loss in ticket sales is because the film leaked three weeks ahead of its release; however, since most downloads were outside the United States, if every downloading American paid to see the movie, it would have made only $4 million more. Another possible reason was the PG-13 cut which was meant to attract younger audiences. Only 34% of viewers were under 25 years old while the less violent cut may have reduced interest from older audiences. Sylvester Stallone later admitted that toning the film down for a PG-13 rating was a mistake. The film was released in China on September 5, 2014, and topped the box office in its first week’s release earning $33.68 million from 231,836 screenings and 6.92 million admissions.

Cast:

Sylvester Stallone as Barney Ross
Jason Statham as Lee Christmas
Antonio Banderas as Galgo
Jet Li as Yin Yang
Wesley Snipes as Doctor “Doc”
Dolph Lundgren as Gunner
Kelsey Grammer as Bonaparte
Terry Crews as Caesar
Randy Couture as Toll Road
Kellan Lutz as Smilee A former U.S.
Ronda Rousey as Luna
Glen Powell as Thorn
Victor Ortiz as Mars
Robert Davi as Goran Vata
Mel Gibson as Stonebanks
Harrison Ford as Drummer A CIA
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Trent “Trench” Mauser
Natalie Burn as Conrad’s wife
Sarai Givaty as Camilla