Arnold Schwarzenegger, an icon on and off camera, embodies the mantra “go big or go home” in all its entirety. Since the age of fifteen, Schwarzenegger had big dreams, and he was ready to take big steps to achieve them. He proved this again and again as he set the standards of bodybuilding a tad bit too high with every title that he won. And while many assume that this translated to big box office numbers when he made the transition to the city of stars, it is also true for the budget of his movies.

To this day, people applaud Schwarzenegger for delivering a multitude of action movies filled with thrilling stunts. But one of these action extravaganzas by Schwarzenegger holds a very exorbitant Guinness World Record.

How Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron made Hollywood’s most expensive film

‘Expensive’ is not unexplored territory for James Cameron now. The director has become synonymous with making movies with budgets that will make you rethink if the value of 0 actually equates to nothing. But as we enter a cinematic era of excessive CGI usage and luxurious chops, Cameron is not a lone player in the field like he was in 1994. Back then, James Cameron was the recipient of many dropped jaws as he made Arnold Schwarzenegger’s True Lies on a $100 million budget. The first Hollywood movie ever to do so as the Guinness Book of World Records states.

With its espionage escapades, helicopter rides, and perhaps the most goosebumps-inducing dialogue known to the cinema in Schwarzenegger’s “You’re fired” as he quite literally fired his opponent who was strapped to a missile into oblivion has been called a project worth a million bucks. What fans did not know is that it was actually worth more than that, a hundred million bucks.

For this reason, as opposed to its $378.9 million box office collection, True Lies holds a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. But a more priceless honor that it prides itself in is the place it holds in fans’ hearts.

Why is True Lies considered Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most iconic movie?

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s larger-than-life persona, coupled with their release in the 90s, has elevated many of his movies to iconic status. While he has come to be known for the Terminator franchise, many of his fans and Schwarzenegger himself hold True Lies at a higher position.

The movie, albeit following the tried and tested trope of the Austrian Oak, playing an action-crazed character with impeccable comic timing had many fresh elements. It may have had action as its core, but Schwarzenegger was not afraid of dredging out comedy and romance from it. This is how True Lies became not only iconic with its plot but also because of its $100 million budget.

Did you know that True Lies was the first $100 Million movie in Hollywood? Let us know in the comments below.