FILM · 2013
Grudge Match
24 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (24)
- #001
Many people assume Grudge Match was a Sylvester Stallone project, but according to Robert De Niro he received the script first and concluded that Stallone would be the best choice to play his rival. Stallone was initially quite reluctant to make the film because he did not want to parody Rocky (1976), and De Niro had to persuade him. Stallone claimed he trained harder than usual for the role because he had taken a break from action roles and had stopped working out as much as he normally did.
- #002
Alternative endings were filmed to prevent any spoilers or leaks.
- #003
Sally Rose is played by Kim Basinger in the 2010s scenes and by her daughter Ireland Baldwin in the 1980s scenes.
- #004
A picture of Rocky (1976) can be seen on the wall during Kid's training.
- #005
The film reunites Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro for the first time since Cop Land (1997).
- #006
In one scene, during training, "Razor" (Sylvester Stallone) is about to punch raw meat hanging in a meat locker, and "Lightning" (Alan Arkin) tells him not to because it is unhealthy. This is a nod to the scene in Rocky (1976) where he broke his ribs and clearly did not care whether that was unhealthy.
- #007
During filming, Robert De Niro was 70 and Sylvester Stallone was 67.
- #008
In one scene, Razor trains in a car junkyard by pulling a semi-truck called Road Hawk. This is a tribute to Sylvester Stallone's character Lincoln Hawk in Over the Top (1987).
- #009
It had been 33 years since Robert De Niro last stepped into a ring for his Oscar-winning role as Jake La Motta in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980).
- #010
Robert De Niro and Jon Bernthal, who play father and son in this film, have both also played Al Capone. De Niro played Capone in The Untouchables (1987), while Bernthal played Capone in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009).
- #011
It grossed only 7 million dollars in its opening weekend, placing eleventh on that week's box office chart, a significant disappointment for everyone involved.
- #012
This was Ireland Baldwin's first feature film.
- #013
In the scene in the middle of the credits, a fight poster reading "Segal Vs Ewing" hangs on the wall of Dante's office. It is a nod to producers Peter Segal and Michael Ewing. The same poster also features "Osbrink vs King," referring to talent agents and supporters Cindy Osbrink (Hollywood) and Don King (boxing), as well as "Gerber vs Mehta," referring to producers Bill Gerber and Ravi D. Mehta.
- #014
Although Rich Little is credited simply as "Boxing Announcer," he is clearly impersonating iconic sports reporter Howard Cosell and his famous "Down goes Frazier!" call from the Joe Frazier-George Foreman fight.
- #015
The film stars three-time Oscar winner Robert De Niro, Kim Basinger and Alan Arkin, alongside three-time nominee Sylvester Stallone. Although Stallone did not win the Best Actor award for Rocky, he created and wrote it and won the Best Picture award.
- #016
Sylvester Stallone was nominated for a record fourteenth Golden Raspberry Award for his performances in Bullet to the Head (2012) and Escape Plan (2013). He lost to Jaden Smith for After Earth (2013).
- #017
Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone had both played boxers in earlier films: Stallone in the Rocky saga and De Niro in Raging Bull (1980). Both were nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and only De Niro won.
- #018
Jon Bernthal (B. J.) was born the year Rocky (1976) was released, and Kevin Hart (Dante Slate Jr.) was born the year Rocky II (1979) was released.
- #019
The ultimate winner of Grudge Match is Razor, likely because Rocky (1976) has a larger following than Raging Bull (1980). Stallone was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Rocky (1976), while De Niro won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Raging Bull (1980).
- #020
Kim Basinger plays a grandmother for the first time. Although she is old enough to be one, many viewers were still taken aback because of her overwhelming persona as a sex symbol.
- #021
Sylvester Stallone and Kevin Hart share the same birthday (July 6), but were born thirty-three years apart. Stallone was born in 1946 and Hart in 1979.
- #022
Between takes, Sadarias Harrell could be seen writing possible songs for his first LP. When he ran out of paper, he wrote on the money in his pocket.
- #023
Although Sylvester Stallone's character Henry "Razor" Sharp is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this is the second time Stallone has taken a boxing character from Pennsylvania; the first was Rocky Balboa of the Rocky series, who was based in Philadelphia during his boxing career before Pittsburgh's Henry "Razor" Sharp.
- #024
This is Anna Trebunskaya's debut.
Continue through the archive
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- IMDb IMDb kaydı
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work