Rocky Balboa (film)

Rocky Balboa (film)

Rocky Balboa (also known as Rocky VI) is the sixth installment in the Rocky franchise, written, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. Stallone who plays underdog boxer Rocky Balboa, is the sixth film in the Rocky series that began with the Academy Award-winning Rocky thirty years earlier in 1976. The film portrays Balboa in retirement, a widower living in Philadelphia, and the owner and operator of a local Italian restaurant called "Adrian's", named after his late wife.

Rocky Balboa was produced as another sequel to the Academy Award-winning Rocky. According to Stallone, he was "negligent" in the production of Rocky V leaving him and many of the fans disappointed with the presumed end of the series. Stallone also mentioned that the storyline of Rocky Balboa parallels his own struggles and triumphs in recent times.

In addition to Stallone, the film stars Burt Young as Paulie, Rocky's brother-in-law, and real-life boxer Antonio Tarver as Mason "The Line" Dixon, the current World Heavyweight Champion in the film. Boxing promoter Lou DiBella plays himself in the movie and acts as Dixon's promoter in the film. Milo Ventimiglia plays Rocky's son Robert, now an adult. It also features the return of two minor characters from the original movie into larger roles in this film: Marie, the young woman that Rocky attempts to steer away from trouble; and Spider Rico, the first opponent that Rocky is shown fighting in the original film. The film also holds many references to people and objects from previous instalments in the series, especially the first.

The film was released on December 20, 2006, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios. It exceeded box office expectations and critical reaction was positive. The film was released in several formats for its home media release, and DVD sales have exceeded $34 million.