‚Rocky IV‘ and ‚Rambo: First Blood Part II,‘ both released in 1985, represented the pinnacle of Sylvester Stallone’s movie stardom.
Just over a year after confirming via social media that a director’s cut of Rocky IV would be arriving in time for the film’s 35-year anniversary (false), we now have a trailer and a one-night only theatrical release for the blockbuster’s 36th anniversary. Yes, for those so inclined, Fathom Events is offering a theatrical showing of this 40-minute-longer (!) version of the fourth Rocky movie on November 11 at 5:00 pm (before being available on digital and on demand the next day). As noted when the existence of this cut was first announced exactly 13 months ago today, the Stallone-directed sequel opened with a then-massive $19.9 million Fri-Sun frame over a $31.77 million Thanksgiving weekend in 1985. It would gross $127.8 million domestic and $300.4 million worldwide on a $30 million budget. Sans inflation, it is Stallone’s second-biggest domestic earner behind Rambo: First Blood part II ($150 million domestic and $300 million worldwide that previous summer) and his second-biggest star vehicle global grosser behind Expendables 2 ($312 million in 2012). As such, in terms of inflation, it’s almost certainly Stallone’s biggest “tickets sold” worldwide success. Rocky IV was my first favorite movie, from back when I was five years old, and the film that indirectly made me into a movie nerd. So you bet I already have tickets for this one. Whether or not we lose Paulie’s pet robot (as Stallone has threatened), I honestly have no idea what to expect from this thing. The film as it exists is a barely-90-minute sprint, with so many music video montages (set to a definitive 1980’s movie soundtrack of “movies written for the movie” bops) that it arguably qualifies as a musical.
