Arnold Schwarzenegger Says He Made More Money From TWINS Than Any Other Film in His Career — GeekTyrant
'It was more than any movie I ever made,' Schwarzenegger said, revealing he earned over $40 million from the Ivan Reitman-directed comedy co-starring Danny DeVito.
Schwarzenegger starred in so many iconic blockbuster films in his career with The Terminator franchise, Predator , Total Recall , True Lies , and it was Twins , the oddball comedy where he plays a genetically engineered twin brother to DeVito, that made him the most money.
How did that happen? It all came down to a clever back-end deal. Schwarzenegger explained:
'Well, number one was Twins because we got no money for the salary but ownership with a piece of the back end. It was fantastic. We went all the way to the bank with that.'
He and DeVito agreed to take zero up-front salary in exchange for 40% of the film's profits, betting on the film's potential instead of demanding big checks. The gamble paid off. Big time.
When asked if his earnings were more than $40 million, Schwarzenegger confirmed it went even higher. 'It was more than that. It was more than any movie I ever made.'
Twins ultimately grossed $216 million worldwide and continued to rake in cash via home video, becoming one of the most unexpectedly profitable comedies of its era.
At the time, studios weren't exactly lining up to put Schwarzenegger in a comedy. 'They said, 'Are you crazy? The more people that this guy kills on-screen, the more money we make. Why would we change that?'' he recalled in a Variety Actors on Actors conversation with his son Patrick.
But Reitman and DeVito saw something different—and believed in the idea. Schwarzenegger took a massive swing with the business model.
'If we don't take any salaries, we can shoot the movie for $16.5 million. We worked out a deal where we got 40% of the backend of the movie. It happened to be the best deal we've ever made.'
Fans have long hoped for a sequel. A follow-up called Triplets , which would have added Eddie Murphy to the mix, was in development, but never materialized. 'Reitman passed away before we wanted to start shooting,' Schwarzenegger said, signaling that the dream might have ended with the original film's director.
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Where he sees unprecedented moments of incredible drama played out in phenomenal atmospheres, some of us have seen matches of varying quality, some of them embarrassingly one-sided, some ruined by the madness of playing in the stifling afternoon heat, some interrupted for more than an hour by storms, some played in front sparse crowds, others attendances swelled and enlivened only by those supporting Real Madrid or the teams from Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. But somewhere in the chasm of perception between Infantino's bombast and the indifference felt by many football fans, certain things are easier to say. Just as there have been meagre turn-outs at some games, there have been big, noisy crowds at others. Just as there have been poor matches, where the quality has been low or totally mismatched, there have been some very good ones, none better than Al Hilal's thrilling 4-3 victory over Manchester City in Orlando on Monday night while Riyadh and Manchester were sleeping. That was the one that prompted Infantino's boldest 'new era' claim so far. 'A game for the ages,' he said on Instagram. 'The emotions and passion on display were something only a global, inclusive competition such as the FIFA Club World Cup can generate.' It was, to repeat, a thrilling game, a big moment for Saudi Arabian football and for this tournament. But … does the most powerful man in world football really believe the emotions witnessed at Camping World Stadium on Monday 'were something only a global, inclusive competition such as the FIFA Club World Cup can generate'? You would suspect not. You would certainly hope not. There have been some strong attendances, but nothing like as many as Infantino was suggesting there would be before the tournament. He told a sceptical media audience in Atlanta in April that he had even seen 'friendly games, exhibition games' sell out in American cities in recent years, so he was 'not worried at all to fill a stadium when teams are coming to play a World Cup, to play for (…) something real'. Advertisement He said it would be like staging '14 Super Bowls' in Atlanta — six at this summer's Club World Cup and eight at next year's World Cup. But the city's five games to date have hosted an average of 38,265, which is not only barely half the capacity of Mercedes-Benz Stadium but also almost 6,000 below Atlanta United's average attendance in what has been a deeply disappointing MLS season. Atlanta United's prices are significantly lower of course, but that suggests they know their market rather better than FIFA do. 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Seattle Sounders earned $9.55m despite losing all three games. Nice for those two clubs, but does it really help MLS clubs compete with the rest of the world? Or does it just give these two clubs a big competitive advantage over the domestic rivals (and, in Inter Miami's case, having been granted a qualifying place by winning the MLS Supporters' Shield in 2024, a peculiarity that FIFA insists had nothing to do with wanting Lionel Messi at the tournament)? Infantino talks about driving back against elitism, but the vast majority of that prize money will end up going to the biggest European clubs, who, having already been promised a greater market share of the $425m, represent five of the last eight and, due to the way the knockout bracket has taken shape, are guaranteed at least two semi-finalists and at least one finalist. Does it create a more level playing field if, for example, Real Madrid, PSG, Bayern Munich or Chelsea end up winning the $100m prize? 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For all the talk of empowering the other confederations, for all that the South American clubs in particular have brought to the party this time, it is pretty obvious where FIFA will see more potential for growth. So does this Club World Cup really herald the dawn of a new era in global football? Or does it reinforce all the trends that have taken hold of the game in recent years — the strength of the 'super clubs' in Europe, the rise of Saudi Arabian influence, the incessant demands on the players, the belief that the only way to improve football is by playing more and more games, more and bigger competitions? Because constant expansion equals more games, which equals more money. And because more money is the name of the game, no matter where that money comes from or what geopolitical strings it comes with. What does Al Hilal's victory over Manchester City represent? That is harder to say, particularly given that Pep Guardiola's players looked desperate for a summer holiday. But it can hardly be called a shift in the balance of power between European and Asian football, given that City had thrashed last year's Asian Champions League winners Al Ain, of the United Arab Emirates, 6-0 eight days earlier. The rise of football in Saudi Arabia is another matter entirely, driven by the investment that started in earnest with Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Al Nassr two and a half years ago. Al Hilal, with players like Yassine Bounou, Kalidou Koulibaly, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in their ranks and coached by Simone Inzaghi, looked like a serious team — something Milinkovic-Savic was particularly keen to spell out to those who had questioned their career choices. Advertisement It was a match that showcased the various merits of the tournament: a richly entertaining, end-to-end encounter, where a big crowd was captivated as an Asian team beat a European team for the first time in the history of the Club World Cup — a stat that Infantino would surely love to use, but it would require him to acknowledge that the competition existed previously. But Infantino wants us to see this as Year Zero, a 'big bang' that will shape the structure of the football universe for the years to come, 'incredible', 'phenomenal', 'epic'. It hasn't felt like that. Have those fans who have swerved it missed anything unmissable, groundbreaking or indeed epic? Not really. The football — some of it — has been enjoyable. Well, of course it has; it's football, after all. But the game doesn't need a 'big bang'. There have been more than enough smaller bangs down the years. For some of us, troubled by this constant drive for expansion — more, more, more — there is a persistent concern that the next bang will be the sound of a bubble bursting. That hasn't happened here. The football world isn't coming to an end because FIFA has held a 32-club tournament in the U.S. at the height of summer. But neither has it launched a glorious new era, with more thrilling action, more raw emotion — or indeed more people in the stands — than anyone has ever experienced before. More money? Yes, of course, but with it comes the nagging concern about where all of this is taking the game.
