Not many people will agree when we say Arnold Schwarzenegger’s appearance as Dr. Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze in Joel Schumacher’s 1997 movie Batman & Robin was quite memorable. This movie isn’t particularly considered one of the best Batman movies.
Schwarzenegger’s performance was particularly criticized as viewers felt it was quite over-the-top. It was revealed that Schwarzenegger didn’t even meet his co-stars as he shot some of his scenes and left the set due to his busy schedule. In the end, Schwarzenegger took a hefty paycheck and fans got one of the worst superhero movies of all time.
Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t meet his co-stars of Batman & Robin
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was hired to play the role of Dr. Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze in Joel Schumacher’s 1997 movie Batman & Robin, mainly because the actor was a superstar at the time, however, that proved to be a problem for the filmmakers.
Schwarzenegger was so busy that he came on the sets, recorded some of his scenes, and left the sets because of his busy schedule. A body double was used and his lines were later added. This is quite hilarious as fans have complained Schwarzenegger’s performance is one of the reasons why Batman & Robin was a flop.
Arnold Schwarzenegger earned a lot of his work in Batman & Robin
On an estimated budget of $160 million, Batman & Robin managed to earn about $238 million at the global box office. Some would argue that it wasn’t a complete failure, but comparing the movie to its predecessors, the numbers were quite embarrassing.
Arnold Schwarzenegger got $25 million for his work in the movie despite being present for only 25 days on the set. George Clooney, who played the lead role of Batman in the movie, earned a little over $1 million for his role. The vast gap in the salaries made other actors quite furious.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was a superstar
Back then, Clooney wasn’t a huge star, so that explains why he got such an insignificant salary for his work in the movie. The movie attracted audiences using Schwarzenegger’s stardom as he was a superstar at the time, thanks to his work in the Terminator franchise.
All in all, Batman & Robin was a failure and is considered to be one of the worst superhero movies of all time. Its failure also resulted in DC sidelining the idea of another Batman movie for several years. Most of the scenes from the movie were removed and director Joel Schumacher later blamed studio pressure to make the film more “toyetic.”
Source: SlashFilm
