“Was the Beginning of an Empire”: After Fighting for Years, Arnold Schwarzenegger Partnered With Sylvester Stallone Alongside Bruce Willis to Earn Millions in 1991

Long before Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis shared the screen in The Expendables 3, the trio joined forces in 1991. In the early 90s, the three action stars were in their prime. They were also fiercely competitive. Arnie and Sly had feuded off-screen since the moment they met at the 1977 Golden Globe Awards. However, when the founder of The Hard Rock Cafe, Robert Earl, and producer Keith Barish approached the three stars with a unique business opportunity, they welcomed it.

In 1991, action cinema icons were earning millions at the box office. Stallone had starred in Rocky V (1990), while Willis was basking in the success of Die Hard 2 (1990). Meanwhile, in 1991, the bodybuilding legend starred in arguably the most iconic film of his career, Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Despite that, the trio saw potential in the “business adventure.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis walk into a restaurant

In his 2012 autobiography, Schwarzenegger described how the three Hollywood stars made millions after investing in Planet Hollywood. In 1991, Keith Barish and Robert Earl approached Arnie with the idea of Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood would be a restaurant chain similar to Earl’s Hard Rock Cafe. However, instead of music, the theme would be cinema.

They pitched the restaurant as a “magnet for people who loved American movie stars,” to The Terminator actor. “Movie memorabilia and props would be the décor—like Tom Cruise’s flight suit from Top Gun, Jayne Mansfield’s swimsuit from The Girl Can’t Help It, and a motorcycle from The Terminator,” wrote Arnie. The restaurants would also sell merchandise, host premiers, and even get visits from A-list actors.

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Earl and Barish asked Arnold to be their business partner and said Sly and Willis were willing to join. So the three stars put aside rivalry and joined forces. “I joined Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis in New York that October for the official launch of a glitzy new moneymaking machine… It was the beginning of an empire,” Arnie wrote in Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story. However, while everything looked great on paper, things would soon change.

Things looked good until they didn’t

The bodybuilding icon was right to call Planet Hollywood a money-making machine. In the first few years, the restaurant chain grew exponentially. By 1993, Planet Hollywood had opened two new outlets and generated $15 million in revenue. Within the next three years, the restaurant chain opened superstores. However, things went wrong after the company went public in 1996.

While the idea was unique in 1991, others followed suit after Planet Hollywood became popular and the company faced stiff competition. The restaurant might have also expanded too quickly because, in 1997, the Barish and Earl venture recorded a $40 million loss. Despite this, the chain continued to expand, and in 2000, Planet Hollywood filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

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While the business adventure didn’t last, the three superstars made money. It also managed to make three of the most competitive leading men in Hollywood set aside their differences.