Remastered ‘Rocky’ Film to Return to Theaters For 50th Anniversary

The ultimate inspirational sports film classic, Rocky, is lacing up for its 50th anniversary on Nov. 7-11, 2026, with Rocky 50, remastered in 4K, from Amazon MGM Studios, Park Circus, and Fathom Entertainment.

Starring three-time Academy Award® nominee Sylvester Stallone in the iconic role, the legendary 1976 feature film received ten Academy Award® nominations and won three, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. In 2006, the Library of Congress selected Rocky for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

The original film, which premiered on Nov. 20, 1976, was made on a reported $1 million budget, ultimately earning $225 million at the box-office. Its success led to eight sequels.

The special Rocky 50 edition will also feature an exclusive look at the widely anticipated biographical feature film, I Play Rocky, from Amazon MGM Studios and directed by Academy Award®-winning director Peter Farrelly (Green Book, There’s Something About Mary), alongside an introduction from the I Play Rocky cast.

The original Rocky has a special place in the hearts of American cinematic history. Rocky Balboa (Stallone) is a struggling Philadelphia boxer who is scorned by his gym’s owner, patronized by a loan shark and rebuffed by a painfully shy woman (Talia Shire), whose butcher brother (Academy Award® nominee Burt Young) keeps engineering a romantic match. Rocky would have remained in this rut had not heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) come up with the Bicentennial gimmick to give a chance for a “nobody” to become a “somebody.”

The film, distributed by United Artists, was directed by Academy Award® winner John G. Avilsden from a screenplay and story by Stallone. It starred Stallone, Shire, Weathers, Young, Tony Burton, and Academy Award® nominee Burgess Meredith.

I Play Rocky tells the true story of Stallone and his unshakable belief that he was not just meant to write Rocky, he was meant to be Rocky Balboa. I Play Rocky is scheduled to open nationwide on Nov. 20, with a limited theatrical release on Nov. 13.

Tickets for Rocky 50 will be available online this Fall and at participating theater box offices. For more information and to be among the first notified when tickets go on sale, visit Fathom Entertainment.