Rocky (1976)
His whole life was a million-to-one shot.
Rocky Balboa is a Philadelphia club fighter who seems to be going nowhere. But when a stroke of fate puts him in the ring with a world heavyweight champion, Rocky knows that it's his one shot at the big time — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go the distance and come out a winner!
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 3 December 1976 |
| Genre | Drama |
| Director | John G. Avildsen |
| Starring | Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire and Burt Young |
| Runtime | 120 min |
| Rated | PG |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.5/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 91% · Metacritic 70/100 · TMDB users 7.8/10 |
| Budget | $1 million |
| Box office | $225 million worldwide |
Where to watch Rocky
Rocky is streaming on Prime Video ($8.99 a month) in the US. It is also on Paramount+ ($13.99 a month). If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Prime Video is $8.99 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 19 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Where to watch Rocky in 126 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Albania | Prime Video |
| Algeria | Prime Video |
| Andorra | Prime Video |
| Antigua & Barbuda | Prime Video |
| Argentina | Prime Video $5199 ARS |
| Australia | Prime Video $9.99 AUD, ARD/ZDF |
| Austria | Prime Video €8.99, Max €11.99 |
| Azerbaijan | Prime Video |
| Bahamas | Prime Video |
| Bahrain | Prime Video |
| Barbados | Prime Video |
| Belgium | Prime Video €4.99 |
| Belize | Prime Video |
| Bermuda | Prime Video |
| Bolivia | Prime Video |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | Prime Video |
| Brazil | Prime Video R$19.90 |
| Bulgaria | Prime Video €5.99 |
| Burkina Faso | Prime Video |
| Cameroon | Prime Video |
| Canada | Prime Video $9.99 CAD |
| Cape Verde | Prime Video |
| Chad | Prime Video |
| Chile | Prime Video $6490 CLP |
| Colombia | Prime Video $24900 COP |
| Congo - Kinshasa | Prime Video |
| Costa Rica | Prime Video |
| Croatia | Prime Video €5.99 |
| Czechia | Prime Video 149 Kč |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Prime Video |
| Denmark | Prime Video 69 kr DKK |
| Dominican Republic | Prime Video |
| Ecuador | Prime Video $5.99 |
| Egypt | Prime Video E£29 |
| El Salvador | Prime Video |
| Equatorial Guinea | Prime Video |
| Estonia | Prime Video €5.99 |
| Fiji | Prime Video |
| Finland | Prime Video €6.99 |
| France | Prime Video €6.99 |
| French Guiana | Prime Video |
| French Polynesia | Prime Video |
| Germany | Prime Video €8.99, Max €11.99 |
| Ghana | Prime Video |
| Gibraltar | Prime Video |
| Guatemala | Prime Video |
| Guernsey | Prime Video |
| Guyana | Prime Video |
| Honduras | Prime Video |
| Hong Kong | Prime Video HK$70 |
| Hungary | Prime Video 1900 Ft |
| Iceland | Prime Video 880 kr ISK |
| India | Prime Video ₹299 |
| Indonesia | Prime Video Rp59000 |
| Iraq | Prime Video |
| Ireland | Prime Video €6.99 |
| Italy | Prime Video €4.99 |
| Jamaica | Prime Video |
| Japan | Prime Video ¥600 JPY, Hulu, U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| Jordan | Prime Video |
| Kenya | Prime Video KSh560 |
| Kuwait | Prime Video |
| Latvia | Prime Video €5.99 |
| Lebanon | Prime Video |
| Libya | Prime Video |
| Liechtenstein | Prime Video, Max |
| Lithuania | Prime Video €5.99 |
| Luxembourg | Prime Video €8.99, Max |
| Madagascar | Prime Video |
| Malawi | Prime Video |
| Malaysia | Prime Video RM25.00 |
| Mali | Prime Video |
| Malta | Prime Video €5.99 |
| Mexico | Prime Video $99 MXN |
| Moldova | Prime Video |
| Monaco | Prime Video |
| Morocco | Prime Video |
| Mozambique | Prime Video |
| Netherlands | Prime Video €4.99 |
| New Zealand | Prime Video $8.99 NZD |
| Nicaragua | Prime Video |
| Niger | Prime Video |
| Nigeria | Prime Video ₦2300 |
| North Macedonia | Prime Video |
| Norway | Prime Video 79 kr NOK |
| Oman | Prime Video |
| Palestinian Territories | Prime Video |
| Panama | Prime Video $5.99 |
| Papua New Guinea | Prime Video |
| Paraguay | Prime Video |
| Peru | Prime Video S/25.90 |
| Philippines | Prime Video ₱149 |
| Poland | Prime Video 25.99 zł |
| Portugal | Prime Video €4.99 |
| Qatar | Prime Video QR16.00 |
| Romania | Prime Video 19.99 lei |
| San Marino | Prime Video |
| Saudi Arabia | Prime Video ﷼16.00 |
| Senegal | Prime Video |
| Serbia | Prime Video 818 din |
| Seychelles | Prime Video |
| Singapore | Prime Video $4.99 SGD |
| Slovakia | Prime Video €5.99 |
| Slovenia | Prime Video €6.99 |
| South Africa | Prime Video R79 ZAR |
| South Korea | Watcha |
| Spain | Prime Video €4.99 |
| St. Lucia | Prime Video |
| Sweden | Prime Video 69 kr SEK |
| Switzerland | Prime Video CHF8.90, Max CHF12.90 |
| Taiwan | Prime Video NT$290 |
| Tanzania | Prime Video |
| Thailand | Prime Video ฿149 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Prime Video |
| Tunisia | Prime Video |
| Turks & Caicos Islands | Prime Video |
| Türkiye | Prime Video ₺39.90, Max |
| Uganda | Prime Video |
| United Arab Emirates | Prime Video AED16.00 |
| United Kingdom | Prime Video £8.99 GBP |
| Uruguay | Prime Video $U249 |
| Vatican City | Prime Video |
| Venezuela | Prime Video |
| Yemen | Prime Video |
| Zambia | Prime Video |
| Zimbabwe | Prime Video |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Rocky is a 120-minute drama where a Philadelphia club fighter gets a single chance to fight a heavyweight champion. John G. Avildsen directs it, and Sylvester Stallone plays the title role. The film trades on the idea that a life of obscurity can end in a single, decisive hour. It is less about winning the belt and more about respecting the distance. If you have ever felt small in a large room, this is the one to press play on.
What the critics said
Critics largely embraced the film, though the scores show some age. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 91% approval rating as of November 2022, with an average score of 8.5/10 from October 2021. Metacritic assigns a 70/100 Metascore as of June 2025, a rating it files under generally favorable. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 4 out of 4 stars, noting Stallone reminded him of the young Marlon Brando. Frank Rich called the movie "almost 100 per cent schmaltz," yet preferred it to the cynicism prevalent in cinema at the time. Vincent Canby of The New York Times disagreed, dismissing it as "pure '30s make believe." The divide between heartwarming and heavy-handed is where the film lives.
How it did with audiences
Rocky cost $1 million to make and took $225 million worldwide, a return that film accountants might call efficient and bankers would call a miracle. In the United States, it earned $117 million. That figure is the highest-grossing film released in 1976 in the US and Canada. On TMDB, users rate it 7.8 out of 10. The numbers suggest audiences did the math long before the studios did.
Awards
Rocky collected 4 awards from 9 nominations. The 1977 Academy Awards handed the Best Picture trophy to producer Irwin Winkler. Director John G. Avildsen took home the Best Director statuette, and editor Richard Halsey captured the Film Editing prize. The National Board of Review also placed it in their Top Ten. A solid haul for a debut director.
What came next for the cast
Sylvester Stallone moved from Death Race 2000 to The Expendables and Guardians of the Galaxy. Burt Young appeared in Chinatown before Once Upon a Time in America. Talia Shire had The Godfather behind her and The Godfather Part III ahead. Carl Weathers stepped from Magnum Force into Predator and The Mandalorian. The credits do not prove the film caused those shifts. They simply mark the timeline.
Where it left its mark
It secured the Directors Guild of America’s best film award in 1976. By 2016, the guild had placed it 65th among all time’s best-directed works. The Writers Guild followed in 2006, naming Stallone’s original script the 78th best ever. AFI’s 1998 list ranked it 78th, climbing to 57th on the 2007 10th anniversary edition. It also placed second in AFI’s 2008 sports genre poll, behind Raging Bull. The Library of Congress preserved it in 2006 for cultural significance. One could argue the lists outlasted the hype.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Rocky.
Sources
- Rocky on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q188652 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Rocky” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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