Rocky (franchise)

Rocky is a boxing saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the character Rocky Balboa. The films are, by order of release date: Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990) and Rocky Balboa (2006). The films series has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.

Film summaries

Rocky

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a small-time boxer who seems to be going nowhere in life. Ignored by his trainer, Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith) Rocky fights in sleazy clubs and works as a collector for a local loan shark. At the same time, Rocky unsuccessfully courts Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire), a painfully shy girl, with an alcoholic brother, Paulie (Burt Young). But when the heavyweight champion of the world, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), chooses Rocky at random as his opponent in an upcoming title fight, Rocky realizes he now has the chance to prove he is not worthless. With Adrian at his side and Mickey as his new manager, Rocky fights for the title and more importantly, for his own self-respect.

Rocky II

After proving himself, even with a loss to Apollo Creed, Rocky expects the good life to follow. He marries Adrian and begins spending the money he earned from the match. But after he fails at both endorsements and a series of low-wage jobs, Rocky realizes the only way he can survive is to begin boxing again. Creed, on the other hand, faces criticism from fans over the outcome of the fight. As a result, he taunts Rocky into a rematch, for which Rocky trains once again with Mickey. In the fifteenth round, Rocky knocks Creed to the ground, falling to the ground himself in the process. Both fighters struggle to get to their feet, but only Rocky is successful. For the first time, Rocky is declared the Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Rocky III

After winning the heavyweight title, Rocky takes advantage of his newfound wealth and fame, appearing in multiple advertisements & television programs, and relishing his new celebrity. After defending the title multiple times, he is prepared to retire, but the #1 contender, James "Clubber" Lang (played by Mr. T), challenges Rocky publicly. Rocky, after dealing with Mickey's heart attack before the fight, is overpowered by the stronger, hungrier Lang and is knocked out in the second round. Mickey passes away after the fight, and old rival Apollo Creed steps in, training Rocky to fight more in Creed's old style (and in his old Los Angeles gym) and use more guile and skill. In the rematch, Rocky outboxes Lang, tiring the stronger fighter out and eventually knocking him out in the third round. After the fight, Apollo calls in his "favor" for training Rocky, which is a one-on-one match between the two of them with no cameras, no media, just man vs. man in the gym. The film ends as they each throw their first punch.

Rocky IV

After winning back the title from Clubber Lang, Rocky decides to spend some time with his family. But a new superfighter from the USSR, Ivan Drago (played by Dolph Lundgren) has emerged, and challenges Rocky to an exhibition match. Apollo fights instead, and the beating he takes from Drago ends with him dying in Rocky's arms, still in the ring, as Drago coldly watches. To avenge Apollo, Rocky challenges Drago to a rematch, which is to be held Christmas Day in Moscow. In a montage replete with symbolism, Rocky is shown training in a remote cabin in Siberia with the help of Creed's old trainer Duke, his brother-in-law Paulie and (eventually) Adrian, doing such exercises as chopping wood, lifting rocks and running in the snow, while Drago is seen in an ultratechnological training facility running on treadmills, utilizing weightlifting machines, and receiving injections. During the fight itself, Rocky takes the worst beating of his life, but refuses to fall, eventually winning over the foreign crowd with his display of courage and determination, and knocks Drago out with seconds left in the final round.

Rocky V

After the fight with Drago, Rocky Balboa is diagnosed with brain damage and is forced to retire from the ring. As if that isn't bad enough, the Balboa fortune is all gone due to an unscrupulous accountant. Rocky's family returns back to their old neighborhood: Adrian returns to the pet store she used to work at, Rocky Jr. (in a subplot) deals with bullying at the local high school and Rocky reopens Mickey's old gym. He meets a boxer named Tommy Gunn (played by real-life fighter Tommy Morrison) and begins training him. Unfortunately, a sleazy fight promoter named George Washington Duke convinces Tommy that Rocky is holding him back, and Tommy throws over Rocky for Duke. After Tommy wins the heavyweight championship, he makes a short speech thanking Duke, and is met with jeers and the familiar chant of "Rocky" from the crowd. Seething from this insult, as well as being called "Rocky's Robot" in the papers, Tommy decides to seek out his former mentor for a final showdown. Rocky starts to walk away from the public challenge, but Paulie decides to let Tommy have a piece of his mind about how Tommy has treated Rocky - after which Tommy punches out Paulie. Rocky then challenges Tommy, "Hey - you knocked him down, why don't you try knocking me down now?" Duke tells Rocky that the fight will be in the ring, but Rocky tells Tommy "My ring's outside." The two proceed outside for a bare-knuckle street fight. This was the least successful film in the series and received mixed reviews from fans and a worse reaction from critics.

Rocky Balboa

In Rocky Balboa, sixteen years have passed since his final fight with his former protege, Tommy Gunn. Long retired Rocky Balboa still staggers around an ever changing world; his son is grown and distant, Paulie is working back at the meat plant, and his wife Adrian has died. Rocky has opened a restaurant, named after his wife, which he stocks with mementos of his prime as he tells his old fight stories to the customers. But when a computer simulated fight on ESPN depicting a bout between a young Rocky Balboa and the current champion, Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver) reignites interest in the faded boxer, Rocky discovers he has not lost his fighting spirit and considers an opportunity to prove himself in the ring one last time.

Characters

Mickey Goldmill

Michael "Mickey" Goldmill, portrayed by Burgess Meredith, is a boxing trainer, who manages the gym used by Rocky. He is a former professional boxer, who claims to never have garnered attention due to the lack of a manager. He sees Rocky as wasted potential, and when he comes to Mickey for training, he initially refuses. He eventually agrees to help, and they manage to go all fifteen rounds with Apollo Creed, though Rocky loses by a point. He continues to train Rocky for his rematch against Creed, claiming that Rocky had won the fight in the first place. He uses a number of unorthodox training methods and gets Rocky to switch his dominant hand in order to confuse Creed and protect Rocky's injured eye. Rocky manages to win and becomes the champion.

Mickey continues to train him through a number of title matches, though Mickey eventually starts to suffer from heart problems. Once Clubber Lang challenges Rocky, Mickey reveals that most of his title matches were hand-picked fighters, who were "good fighters, but not killers." He stubbornly agrees to train Rocky for the fight, and after Rocky loses to Lang, he tells a dying Mickey that the fight ended with a knockout. Meredith reprises the role in Rocky V in the form of flashbacks.

Box office

Film	Release date	Box office revenue
Film	Release date	United States	Foreign	Worldwide
Rocky	November 27, 1976	$117,235,147	$107,764,853	$225,000,000
Rocky II	June 15, 1979	$85,182,160	$115,000,000	$200,182,160
Rocky III	May 28, 1982	$125,049,125	Unknown	$125,049,125
Rocky IV	November 27, 1985	$127,873,716	$172,600,000	$300,473,716
Rocky V	November 16, 1990	$40,946,358	$79,000,000	$119,946,358
Rocky Balboa	December 20, 2006	$70,270,943	$85,428,201	$155,699,144
Totals	Films 1–6	$566,556,405	$559,793,054	$1,126,350,503