Part 3/7:
Golden Era: A Blockbuster Franchise is Born
Following Above the Law, Seagal continued to ride the success wave with films like Hard to Kill and Marked for Death. Each film was a profitable venture, with Hard to Kill grossing around $50 million against a $12 million budget. Seagal became synonymous with the action genre, and each subsequent movie established him more firmly in the hearts of audiences eager for explosive combat and drama.
Things reached their zenith with Under Siege, which became one of his most successful films. The film grossed an astonishing $157 million worldwide and even led to script changes in Die Hard 3, demonstrating Seagal's overarching influence on the genre at that time.