Expendables 3
The Expendables 3 cast, lead by (front row, L-R) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wesley Snipes & Sylvester Stallone. Lionsgate Films

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of leaking action sequel The Expendables 3 online ahead of its release in cinemas earlier this year.

A high quality version of the film starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Jason Statham became available through torrent websites on 25 July 2014, three weeks before its US release on 15 August.

A 36-year-old man from Upton, Wirral, and a 33-year-old man from West Yorkshire are believed to have stolen the film from a cloud-based system before uploading it online, according to ITV.

Lionsgate and Millennium Films believe the leaked version of The Expendables 3 impacted the film's box office success and in turn endeavoured to find those responsible.

The film disappointed at the box office despite its more audience-friendly PG-13 rating, taking just over $200 million worldwide, making it one of the year's biggest Hollywood failures.

Earlier this week, Stallone (the brains behind the series) called the decision to make Expendables 3 PG-13 "a horrible miscalculation" during an interview with Crave Online. Despite the film's failure however, he reiterated plans for a fourth film, which he said would return to the series' bloodier, R-rated roots.

The two men were arrested by City of London Police and were released on bail until May of next year.

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