Arnold Schwarzenegger says he was 'embarrassed' and 'hurt' by movie which underperformed at the box office

Arnold Schwarzenegger is no stranger to a Hollywood blockbuster and over his huge film career, he's starred in some iconic movies.

The Austrian-born movie star has headlined such franchises at Conan The Barbarian, The Terminator and Predator, in addition to many other high grossing flicks.

But with the highs comes the lows, and Arnie has had some clunkers in his career.

Perhaps more memorable among his lesser works was his performance as Mr Freeze in Batman and Robin that earned him a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actor.

And the less said about the time he played a pregnant man in Junior, the better.

But there's one film that Schwarzenegger was particularly disappointed about.

Instagram/@schwarzenegger

Last Action Hero, which was released in 1993, focused on Jack Slater, played by Schwarzenegger, who is a police detective within a in-movie film franchise.

When a boy from the 'real world' is transported into Slater's movie, Slater follows him back into the 'real world' where action ensues.

Upon release in the summer of 1993, the film faced stiff competition from the likes of Jurassic Park and only made $137 million against its $85 million budget.

Reflecting on the movie in his new Netflix doc, Arnold, which struggled to make $15.3 million in its first week, the 75-year-old said: "I cannot tell you how upset I was.

"It hurts you. It hurts your feelings. It’s embarrassing… I didn’t want to see anyone for a week.

"But you keep plodding along. And my mother-in-law also said this all the time: ‘Let’s just move forward.’ It’s a great message."

In addition to this disappointing profit, the flick also received mixed reviews from critics.

A review in Entertainment Weekly declared: "Last Action Hero makes such a strenuous show of winking at the audience (and itself) that it seems to be celebrating nothing so much as its own awfulness.

"In a sense, the movie's incipient commercial failure completes it aesthetically."

Columbia Pictures

While Variety deemed the movie a 'joyless, soulless machine of a movie'.

Ouch.

Those aren't quotes you want to put on the poster at the front of the cinema.

In fairness to Arnie, the movie came off the heels of some major hits for his career - with Kindergarten Cop and Terminator: Judgement Day coming out just a few years prior.

Last Action Hero has developed something of a cult classic following in the thirty years since its release, and is now considered one of Schwarzenegger's most underrated works.

And given that he went on to become the governor of California, it can't hurt his standing with the general public all too much.

Topics: Arnold Schwarzenegger, TV and Film, Celebrity

Ben Thompson