The Expendables (2010 film)

The Expendables
Nine armed men dressed in black standing shoulder to shoulder, Sylvester Stallone front and center.
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySylvester Stallone
Screenplay by
Story byDavid Callaham
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJeffrey Kimball
Edited by
  • Ken Blackwell
  • Paul Harb
Music byBrian Tyler
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate
Release dates
  • August 3, 2010 (2010-08-03) (Los Angeles)
  • August 13, 2010 (2010-08-13) (United States)
Running time
103 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$80–82 million[2][3]
Box office$274.5 million[2]

The Expendables is a 2010 American action film directed by Sylvester Stallone, who co-wrote it with David Callaham and also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars an ensemble cast of mostly action film actors consisting of Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Terry Crews, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Willis. The film was released in the United States on August 13, 2010. It is the first installment in The Expendables film series. This was Dolph Lundgren's first theatrically released film since 1995's cyberpunk film Johnny Mnemonic.

The film is about a team of elite mercenaries tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator whom they soon discover to be a mere puppet controlled by a corrupt ex-CIA agent. It pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was distributed by Lionsgate.

The Expendables received mixed reviews with praise towards the action sequences and cast performances. It was commercially successful, opening at number one at the box office in the United States,[2] the United Kingdom,[4] China[5] and India,[6] and grossed a total of $274 million worldwide. The film spawned the sequels The Expendables 2 (2012), The Expendables 3 (2014), and Expend4bles (2023).

  1. ^ "THE EXPENDABLES (15) (!)". British Board of Film Classification. July 6, 2010. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "The Expendables". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference latimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Expendables Takes No. 1 Spot". Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  5. ^ Segers, Frank. "'Airbender,' 'Expendables' fight for o'seas No. 1". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  6. ^ Ray, Ashna. "'Expendables' beats 'Eat Pray Love' over fight for o'seas No. 1 in India". The Glamsham. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.