40 years ago today, Rocky received its first release in the US.
The film would go on to define Sylvester Stallone's career, reinvent boxing and sports films as a genre and won three Oscars including Best Picture. The film was also a commercial success, made for a budget of just under $1,000,000 and eventually grossing $225 million at the box office and continually earns money to this day.
Stallone wrote the screenplay during his time as a struggling and impoverished actor, lobbying hard to win the role for himself rather than sell off the screenplay. Eventually, the producers acquiesced and the rest, as they say, is history.
Here's some more lesser-known tidbits...