The $0 Gamble That Paid $35 Million

In the late 1980s, Arnold Schwarzenegger was the highest-paid action star in the world. So when he pitched himself for a comedy — playing opposite Danny DeVito as long-lost twin brothers — Universal Pictures was skeptical.

Arnold proposed a deal: he'd take $0 upfront in exchange for 20% of the film's gross profits. DeVito and director Ivan Reitman made similar deals. The studio loved it — zero salary risk on a film they expected to underperform.

Twins opened on December 9, 1988, and was an immediate hit. It grossed $216 million worldwide against a $15 million budget. Arnold's 20% backend deal reportedly paid him approximately $35 million — more than he had earned for any Terminator film at that point.

The studio that thought they were getting a bargain had handed Arnold the most profitable deal of his career. He later called it "the best financial decision I ever made in Hollywood."