50 Cent says Cody Rhodes’ yacht outing for the Street Fighter cast left him feeling outdone, so he answered the very next weekend by shutting down an amusement park in Australia.
Speaking with Sam Roberts on Not Sam Roberts alongside Noah Centineo, 50 Cent, who plays Balrog, recalled Rhodes, who plays Guile, taking the whole cast out on a yacht. He said it was so impressive that he wondered why the people around him had not thought to do the same for him, joking, “How the f*ck does he make me look like I’m not 50 Cent?”
That was only half the story. In a Complex oral history of the film, 50 Cent said that after the yacht trip he decided he needed to respond, so he closed down an amusement park and invited the entire cast and crew for a day of fun. Costar Callina Liang, who plays Chun-Li, said in the same piece that 50 Cent rented out Luna Park. He told Variety the invitation also covered the cast and crew’s loved ones.
The one-upmanship arrives as Street Fighter debuted at number one at the North American box office, with Sunday estimates of $31 million domestically and roughly $51 million worldwide. The film carries a reported $82 million budget, co-financed by Legendary and Capcom, so its second weekend and overseas run will shape any sequel talk. 50 Cent has floated a Balrog-focused follow-up since last September.
For Rhodes, the movie push comes during a busy stretch. He has been working the Street Fighter press tour dressed as Guile, a move John Cena publicly backed, and he recently signed a five-year WWE extension, according to The New York Times.