9 Films You Didn't Know Were Nominated As Worst Picture

Rocky IV happens to be the most successful of the entire pugilistic franchise and was the highest grossing Worst Film nominee ever for around 13 years. Eventually, The Waterboy (1998) starring Adam Sandler took over that title, with The Blind Side taking over that in 2009.

With that in mind, it’s unexpected to see Rocky IV receive a nomination in 1985. It’s not the best Rocky film, but it remains one of the most entertaining as it opens with “Eye of the Tiger,” features a total of five montages to aid its story-telling, and a complete rendition of “Living in America” by James Brown to open a boxing match.

The most underappreciated part of Rocky IV – aside from Rocky’s Russian beard – is that it manages to utilise the tension between the US and Russia in order to create the perfect villain: Ivan Drago. He alone deserves the film's iconic status.

At the end of the film, Rocky manages to impress the Russian government with his skills and victory speech as they applaud, and so we can only assume that heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa has in fact ended the Cold War.