Rocky is a boxing saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the character Rocky Balboa. The films are, by order of release date: Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990) and Rocky Balboa (2006). The films series has grossed more than $1 billion worldwide.

Film summaries

Rocky

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a small-time boxer who seems to be going nowhere in life. Ignored by his trainer, Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith) Rocky fights in sleazy clubs and works as a collector for a local loan shark. At the same time, Rocky unsuccessfully courts Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire), a painfully shy girl with an alcoholic brother, Paulie (Burt Young). But when heavyweight champion of the world Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) chooses Rocky at random as his opponent in an upcoming title fight, Rocky realizes he now has the chance to prove he is not worthless. With Adrian at his side and Mickey as his new manager, Rocky fights for the title and more importantly, for his own self-respect.

Rocky II

After proving himself, even with a loss to Apollo Creed, Rocky expects the good life to follow. He marries Adrian and begins spending the money he earned from the match. But after he fails at both endorsements and a series of low-wage jobs, Rocky realizes the only way he can survive is to begin boxing again. Creed, on the other hand, faces criticism from fans over the outcome of the fight. As a result, he taunts Rocky into a rematch, for which Rocky trains once again with Mickey. In the fifteenth round, Rocky knocks Creed to the ground, falling to the ground himself in the process. Both fighters struggle to get to their feet, but only Rocky is successful. For the first time, Rocky is declared the Heavyweight Champion of the World.