Rocky II

Rocky II continues the story of Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa after his first fight with heavyweight champion Apollo Creed. Although Rocky lost on points, many people treat him as the real winner, and the fight brings him money and attention. He marries Adrian and tries to settle into a quieter life away from the ring, but the transition proves difficult. The fame fades, his finances suffer, and Creed, unhappy with how his narrow victory was perceived, pushes for a rematch to settle the question of who is the better fighter.

Sylvester Stallone directed the film, which followed his directing debut Paradise Alley the previous year and came before Rocky III. He also wrote the screenplay, with Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff producing. Stallone returns as Rocky alongside Talia Shire as Adrian, Burt Young as Paulie, Carl Weathers as Creed, Burgess Meredith as Mickey and Tony Burton as Duke.

Released in 1979, the film had a budget of about 7 million dollars and took roughly 200 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.3 from around 248,000 votes, and on TMDB it also sits at 7.3, from about 5,000 votes. A critics' rating of 6.4 from 33 reviews places it somewhat below the audience scores.