Sylvester Stallone recently blasted the making of Escape Plan 2, but he has nothing but pride and fondness for the low-budget, quick-filming Escape Plan 3, aka Escape Plan: The Extractors, which just released direct-to-video.
There was very little promotion for the movie, as far as I saw, which is pretty common for straight-to-DVD releases. But the name value of Sylvester Stallone, Dave Bautista, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, and the Escape Plan franchise itself helped elevate The Extractors to the top of the rental charts.
Sylvester Stallone posted info from a Media Play News report showing Escape Plan: The Extractors as the #1 title on two lists -- Top DVD and Blu-ray Disc Rentals, Redbox Kiosks, Week Ended July 7; and Top Digital, Redbox On Demand, Week Ended July 7.
When it comes to DVD/Blu-ray/Redbox rentals, Escape Plan: The Extractors topped Dumbo, Captain Marvel, Us, and The Best of Enemies. Not bad for a movie made in just over two weeks, with a budget just south of a Floyd Mayweather Bugatti, as Sly bragged on Instagram. Here's what he wrote, alongside a photo of the Escape Plan 3 DVD cover:
We are so proud that we beat the odds and are at the top of the charts!!!! Not Easy ! But what I think is amazing and what people should know is this film was made in 17 days with a budget that was less than what the GREAT Floyd Mayweather pays for one of his BUGATTI cars!! (about 3.6 Mil. ). ..... So for young films makers out there shows what can be done when everyone PULLS together And you have the AMAZING marketing team at GRINDSTONE ENTERTAINMENT GROUP ! Ya killed it!!!
Nice. Sylvester Stallone all-caps praised Escape Plan 3 director John Herzfeld in another Instagram post, emphasizing the movie was made in 17 days:
Yo, Good work by the promotional efforts from the folks at grindstone entertainment group! AND MY DEAR -OLD FRIEND , DIRECTOR JOHN HERZFELD , did an amazing job ...HE ONLY HAD 17 DAYS TO MAKE THIS MOVIE!!!!!
In case you missed it, Escape Plan 3 was made in 17 days. Considering Sylvester Stallone recently said Escape Plan: Hades was the most horribly produced film he'd ever had the misfortune of being in, he sounds a lot more impressed with how much The Extractors was able to accomplish in just 17 days. Let's try to get that down to 14 days for Escape Plan 4!
The first Escape Plan movie starred both Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It came out in 2013 and made $137.3 million worldwide off a production budget reported to be $54 million.
Sylvester Stallone's Ray Breslin returned for Escape Plan 2: Hades, but Arnold Schwarzenegger left the franchise. That 2018 movie reportedly had a budget around $20 million and was released theatrically in China and Russia, but straight-to-DVD in the U.S.
Escape Plan: The Extractors also had a theatrical release in Russia, starting June 27, but went just straight-to-DVD/Digital here.
Dave Bautista commented on Sylvester Stallone's Escape Plan 3 success post with "Yes!!!" Otherwise, though, this seems like the kind of franchise Bautista is eager to leave behind to work on more high-caliber movies like Dune -- while also still playing Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Sylvester Stallone is still all about his franchises, though. He has kept both Rocky and Rambo relevant into the 21st Century, with Rambo V: Last Blood opening in theaters this September. Sly also just got fresh inspiration for The Expendables 4, which has been in the works for a few years now.
Have you checked out Escape Plan: The Extractors yet? Do you plan to?
