Arnold Schwarzenegger has revealed which film earned him his highest ever salary in Hollywood, and it is not from the franchise you may assume.
From The Terminator to Commando and Predator, the 77-year-old has had one of the best careers in film history, earning a number of eye-watering salaries along the way.
READ MORE: Arnold Schwarzenegger Discusses The ‘Crushing’ Moment He Told His Ex-Wife About His Love Child
Schwarzenegger revealed this week that his most profitable film was not one of his many action flicks or franchises, but rather a forgotten comedy from 1988.
When acting in the picture, Schwarzenegger was able to negotiate a condition into his contract that allowed him to make a lot of money.
He co-starred with Danny DeVito in the comedy as fraternal twin brothers who were separated at infancy.
Schwarzenegger appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and confessed that the Twins paid him the most.
“Well, number one was Twins because we got no money for the salary but ownership with a piece of the back end,” he told me.
Schwarzenegger and DeVito opted to forego any upfront salary in order to keep the film’s budget under $16.5 million, a choice that proved extremely profitable for the Terminator star.
READ MORE: Arnold Schwarzenegger Pays Particular Tribute To Bruce Willis Upon His Forced Retirement
Instead of receiving paid upfront, the performers agreed with the company to own 40% of the film’s earnings, thus wagering on its success.
Twins grossed more than $216 million globally, well above their wildest hopes.
Such figures indicated that DeVito and Schwarzenegger’s payout was likely greater than $80 million.
Cohen then questioned the actor if his revenues from the film surpassed $40 million, to which he replied, “They were more than that. It was more than any film I’d ever done.
Schwarzenegger recently met with his son Patrick, a fellow actor, for an interview with Variety, during which Twins was addressed.
“Why would they [cast me in a comedy]?” Schwarzenegger said. “They asked, ‘Are you crazy? The more people this guy kills on film, the more money we get. Why should we change that? That was the banter until Ivan Reitman [director] and Danny DeVito appeared.”
He went on: “So I said, ‘Why don’t we all three take no money?'” If we do not take any wages, we may shoot the film for $16.5 million. We negotiated an agreement in which we received 40% of the movie’s backend. It turned out to be the best transaction we’d ever made.
Step into the ultimate entertainment experience with Radii+ ! Movies, TV series, exclusive interviews, live events, music, and more—stream anytime, anywhere. Download now on various devices including iPhone, Android, smart TVs, Apple TV, Fire Stick, and more!
