Apparently, Schwarzenegger made a deal that ensured his salary and actual earnings on the film would be as mismatched as the two fictional brothers. “If we don’t take any salaries, we can shoot the movie for $16.5 million. We worked out a deal where we got 40 percent of the backend of the movie,” the actor and former California governor said on Watch What Happens Happens Live. “It happened to be the best deal we’ve ever made.”
The film ended up making $216 million at the box office, meaning that 40 percent went a long way. Schwarzenegger made over $40 million on the comedy, he said. “It was fantastic. We went all the way to the bank with that.” He also added that it was “more than any movie I ever made.”
He may have tripled it with Triplets, a planned sequel that would have added Eddie Murphy to the cast, but Twins director Ivan Reitman “passed away before we wanted to start shooting.” The concept would have been very funny, though, as Schwarzenegger explained back in 2012. “I can see a poster,” he mused. “A billboard with us three. ‘They found another one!’ Triplets! ‘Only their mother can tell them apart!'”
Schwarzenegger has done pretty well for himself despite not reaching the heights of Twins in the following 37 years. He’s currently starring in the second season of FUBAR, and recently did voice work for Secret Level and Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten. Down the road, he could also make a movie with his newly famous son, Patrick Schwarzenegger (The White Lotus). “That’s the goal down the road is to do those types of things,” the younger Schwarzenegger told The Hollywood Reporter in April. He was talking about action movies, but a family-based comedy may be even more lucrative.
