In the annals of pop culture rivalries – those where the subjects rose at the same time and were constantly at battle in their field – there’s one that truly matters the most…and it ain’t Magic vs. Bird. For movie fans of the ‘80s and ‘90s, the action rivalry came down to who was better: Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone? And yes, you had to pick one…after all, Sly did.
In Netflix’s new three-part docuseries Arnold, Stallone notes that he and Schwarzenegger were constantly pitted against each other. “We became incredibly competitive…Like [Muhammad] Ali and [Joe] Frazier, or great warriors that are traveling the same course: There was only room for one of us.” That one? It’s got to be Arnold, Stallone admits, saying, “He was superior. He just had all the answers…He had the body. He had the strength. That was his character…He wanted to be number one. Unfortunately, he got there.” He added that the brutality of shooting action movies shifted more in Schwarzenegger’s favor, saying, “I had to get my ass kicked constantly, whereas Arnold, he never got hurt much…And I’m going, ‘Arnold, you could go out and fight a dragon and you’d come back with a Band-Aid.’”
Also in the documentary, Arnold Schwarzenegger acknowledged he had to be in top form to overtake Sylvester Stallone at the box office and with fans, saying, “Every time he came out with a movie like Rambo II, I had to figure out a way of now outdoing that.” But Arnold wouldn’t just try to star in better movies, he would also take advantage of his big screen nemesis by making him headline flops, as he once duped Sly into taking the lead in Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot under the guise that Arnold himself was seeking it. All was fair because, as Arnold put it, “We were competing about everything: The body being ripped and oiled up, who is more vicious? Who is more tough? Who uses bigger knives? Who uses bigger guns? Sly and I were at war.”
As per The Numbers, Stallone and Arnold really aren’t all that far off when it comes to box office haul, with Sly $4.9 billion worldwide and Arnie at $4.5 billion – although Arnold does have highest averages both domestically and internationally.
Who are you going with in the battle of the macho muscle heads: Arnold or Stallone? What is your favorite movie from each? Let us know below!
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