Rocky Balboa is back on top.
Philadelphia’s art board has voted to return the iconic statue of Sylvester Stallone’s rags-to-riches movie hero back to the top of the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, where it once made film history.
Creative Philadelphia approved a preliminary plan to move the bronze boxer outside the museum, where it made its debut for the 1982 sequel “Rocky III,” part of Stallone’s popular movie franchise about a down and out punch-drunk fighter who gets his lucky break in the ring, the New York Times reported.
The board initially sought to return the 8-foot-6-inch statue — which has had several homes in the City of Brotherly Love since it was created by artist A. Thomas Schomberg in 1980 — to Stallone, the outlet said.
But the panel later reconsidered — and the actor was all in.
“In response to the strong and heartfelt feedback from the public, Mr. Stallone has graciously decided that we will no longer move forward with the statue swap,” Valeire V. Gay, the city’s chief cultural officer, told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“This outcome reflects our shared commitment to listen deeply to the community and doing what is best for both the art and the people who cherish it,” she added.
The original “Rocky” flick was a surprise low-budget Academy Award winner in 1976, launching a lucrative and popular six-movie franchise for Stallone.
Despite the statue’s popularity among movie buffs, art purists questioned whether the statue belonged outside a museum with a slew of art treasures by many of the great masters.
Some sports purists have also pushed instead for a statue of real-life Philly boxing icon Joe Frazier.
The bronze Rocky has been moved several times, with metal footprints left to mark where it once stood — although it has returned on a few occasions, including for the movie “Mannequin” in 1987 and for the Tom Hanks hit, “Philadelphia” in 1993.
The statue also made an appearance at the spot for 1990’s “Rocky V.”
At a meeting last week, Creative Philadelphia’s board voted 3-1 with two abstentions to temporarily put Balboa back on top, and is expected to be part of an exhibit titled “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments,” which is due to run from April to August, the Inquirer said.
Meanwhile, two other cast copies of the statue were created over the years — but it’s the original Rocky that has caused such a stir in the Pennsylvania city.
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