Traffic along the Croisette in Cannes, France stopped late Sunday morning as two tanks filled with the cast members of The Expendables 3 rode up to their press conference at the Carlton Hotel.

The act was however a carefully prepared publicity stunt for the upcoming all-star action-movie The Expendables 3, due out August 15 this year, Variety reports. The grand entrance and the following press conference are estimated to have amounted to $2 million US in publicity costs for the production companies Nu Image and Millennium Films.

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On top of the tanks were stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Jason Statham, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Kelsey Grammer, Antonio Banderas, Kellan Lutz, Victor Ortiz, Glen Powell, Randy Couture and Ronda Rousey. Due to a conflict of schedule, co-stars Jet Li and Terry Crews could not attend the stunt which attracted a large audience cheering and taking pictures.

The two vehicles were described as "Soviet-era" armored personnel carriers and the sight of them rolling down the sunny promenade of Cannes was reported by some as inadvertently reminiscent of the German occupation of the city that lasted from 1940 to 1944.

The numerous stars nevertheless waved cheerily to the fans, also taking pictures while on the tanks. As the tanks rolled up to the Carlton Hotel, several of the stars stood up and posed for the press and onlookers alike, hugging each other while fans and press called out their names for attention.

The Carlton hotel had been covered in posters for the film for days in anticipation of the eagerly awaited press conference. Director Patrick Hughes, a former independent filmmaker,

The Expendables 3 is the latest instalment in a series started by Sylvester Stallone, intended as a franchise to join action stars of past and present in a series of all-star "old-school" action movies.

Stallone has in the past described the franchise as a labor of love, requiring the aging star to circumvent scheduling issues and high salaries to put together an all-star cast for a modestly budgeted action series filmed mainly in Eastern Europe.

The first film, released in 2010, featured not only the recurring core cast of Stallone, Statham, Li, Lundgren, Couture and Crews but also Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis in cameo roles, joined by Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke and wrestler Steve Austin. It achieved mediocre reviews but strong box office based on the collective star power on display.

The sequel which was released in 2012 to generally more positive reviews also included Liam Hemsworth, Chuck Norris, Schwarzenegger and Willis as well as Jean-Claude Van Damme as the antagonist. It was an even greater hit at the box office with a global take of $300 million, effectively securing the franchise return later this year.

Stallone himself took to constant updates on twitter regarding casting as he lobbied some of Hollywood's biggest stars to join the film. Reports included attempts at signing Steven Seagal, Nicolas Cage, Mickey Rourke, Jackie Chan, Milla Jovovich and Clint Eastwood.

Mel Gibson was the first to be confirmed, slated to play the main antagonist of the film.

Following an alleged falling out with Willis over salary, he was replaced with Harrison Ford in a similar role. Willis reportedly requested a salary of $4 million for his required 4 days of shooting, whereas the already expensive production could only afford to offer him $3 million.

Though not yet released, The Expendables 3 is expected to be a box office success and a fourth film is already planned. Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan being the first to confirm his involvement with the future sequel.

Cannes is a medium sized city on the French Riviera renowned mostly for its prestigious annual film festival, established in 1946. Hundreds of films are screened both within and out of competition and the festival is often used as a marketing platform to build anticipation for upcoming major films and to secure distributors of smaller films.

This year's festival is currently underway since May 14 and is scheduled to end May 25.

TagsStallone, Schwarzenegger, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Expendables 3, Cannes Film Festival, Tank, Soviet-era, Rhonda Rousey, Kelsey Grammer, Kellan Lutz, Victor Ortiz, Glen Powell, Antonio Banderas