Although Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong have long been subculture icons, the earnings from their breakout film almost immediately went up in smoke.
In Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie, the titular stoner duo recalled the “huge horrible deal” that earned them $50,000 each on their first film Up in Smoke (1978), despite it grossing more than $100M worldwide and launching a franchise.
“The movie comes out, and it’s a giant hit,” said Chong in the documentary. “Nobody thought Up in Smoke was going to do anything but [be] a bust. But the problem was, we had a hit movie and both Cheech and I were literally broke, cash poor.”
He added, “Our income depended on our live performances. And all the time we shot Up in Smoke, we stopped touring on the road. We had no income. We started looking very closely at the contract that we had signed with our lawyer. That was a huge horrible deal for us. The 90-10 split.”
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When asked how much the film grossed off a roughly $1.5 million budget, Chong said “they’re talking $104 million worldwide” in an interview clip from the time.
“We got a pair of lime-green shoes out of the deal…. And a hundred dollars,” said Marin, noting that they were also given “50 thousand to split” before filming. Chong clarified, “Twenty-five thousand each.”
The pair noted that fee was “to write, direct and to star and promote” the film, and the contract also gave them ten percent of “some vaguely defined 100 percent” off the back-end. “And we were committed to Paramount for six other movies,” added Chong.
Directed by David L. Bushell, Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie features conversations with the titular duo, reflecting on their decades-long friendship and success as a comedy duo that met working at Chong’s family strip club in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1969.
After moving to Los Angeles and releasing a number of comedy albums, the pair released their first feature Up in Smoke in 1978. The film was followed by Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie (1980), Nice Dreams (1981), Things Are Tough All Over (1982), Still Smokin (1983) and Cheech & Chong’s The Corsican Brothers (1984).
Following the release of their 1985 album Get Out of My Room, Marin left the duo to focus on his solo acting career, starring in and making his directorial with Born in East L.A. (1987).
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