Summary
- Armageddon was one of the highest-grossing films of the '90s but Bruce Willis was actually forced into it due to a failed project and a lawsuit.
- Willis' involvement in Armageddon came about due to the collapse of Broadway Brawler, which led to a legal dispute with Disney.
- As part of a deal to resolve the lawsuit, Willis also starred in The Sixth Sense and The Kid, two further successes that helped his career.
Armageddon was one of the highest grossing films of the 1990s, despite its lead star, Bruce Willis, being forced to be in it. Michael Bay films are associated synonymously with action and explosions in the pop culture vernacular, and the space adventuring 1998 flick was one of the director's first major box office hits. With a star-studded cast of Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, and also featuring Steve Buscemi, Billy Bob Thornton, Owen Wilson, and Michael Clarke Duncan in ing roles, the film was a surefire success. However, Bruce Willis' role in the film came with a backstory one might not expect from an action star.
Known primarily for his role as John McClane in Die Hard and its sequels, Bruce Willis found some success with a streak of films in the '90s, which included major cultural pieces like Pulp Fiction and The Sixth Sense. A Michael Bay film like Armageddon seems like an obvious choice for a movie star known for action and heroic roles in blockbusters. Bruce Willis' ties to the film actually came due to the failure of a much-less-likely sounding project.
Bruce Willis Starred In Armageddon Because Of Broadway Brawler's Failure
Before any involvement in Armageddon, Bruce Willis was attached to a film called Broadway Brawler. Set to be a romantic, sports comedy that co-starred Maura Tierney, with Willis' character set to be a retired ice hockey player. The film intended to capture a similar spirit to Jerry Maguire, which had released in 1996 with major success. The Disney-made film saw overwhelming issues on set, primarily due to the behavior of Bruce Willis, who was vocal in his dissatisfaction with the cast and crew (per LA Times). This led to several of them being fired. After a failure to re-establish payment following a lapse in production, the film shut down.
The collapse of the Broadway Brawler project left Bruce Willis in a tight spot with Disney, who held him legally responsible for what happened. When faced with a $17.5 million lawsuit, Willis instead took a deal to star in three Disney productions, for significantly reduced pay (per Film Stories). Armageddon was the first of the three, in which he only made $3 million, a microscopic value in comparison to the film's $553.7 million box office run, as well as his usual $20 million asking price.
What Else Bruce Willis Starred In As Part Of His Disney Deal
On top of Armageddon, the three film deal with Disney set Bruce Willis to star in The Sixth Sense, as well as The Kid. While The Kid succeeded in its own right, grossing $110.3 million at the box office, it was nowhere near the phenomenon of The Sixth Sense. The M. Night Shyamalan film was lightning in a bottle, receiving critical acclaim and earning $672.8 million on an only $40 million budget, making it one of the highest-grossing films of the '90s. For a set of films that Bruce Willis was forced into by contract, he lucked out on two of them being some of the biggest successes of his career.
Source: Film Stories, LA Times
