Arnold Schwarzenegger has to 'pay $1' to Warner Bros every year for bizarre reason

Arnold Schwarzenegger reportedly has to pay $1 to Warner Bros. every year for a rather interesting reason.

Anyone who watched the Oscars earlier this year may recall Arnie taking to the stage with Danny DeVito.

The pair, who both previously played Batman villains, then poked fun at former Batman Michael Keaton in the audience in a hilarious skit.

And it's his role as Mr Freeze in 1997's Batman & Robin which is connected to why Schwarzenegger apparently makes a payment to Warner Bros. every year.

It's a long tradition for actors to sometimes keep the props from big projects they've been involved in as a memento.

For example, Ian McKellen previously revealed to Time magazine that he has Gandalf's sword Glamdring in his hatstand at home.

And the Lord of the Rings star is far from the only actor to do, as it seems Schwarzenegger also has memorabilia from his movies, including his Mr Freeze costume.

So, why is this connected to his $1 payment?

Arnold Schwarzenegger reportedly pays Warner Bros. $1 a year (Westend61/Getty Images)

The payment is an example of a 'peppercorn' - a small symbolic payment which is sometimes used to confirm a legal contract.

In this case the payment is for Schwarzenegger to have the costume from his appearance in Batman & Robin on long term lease.

By giving the studio $1 a year the actor reportedly gets to keep it long-term while symbolically acknowledging the studio's continued ownership of it.

That means that when Schwarzenegger passes the costume will likely go back to Warner Bros. and not form part of his estate.

The actor as Mr Freeze in Batman & Robin (Warner Bros.)

Film producer Peter Macgregor-Scott told The Hollywood Reporter that the decision to grant him the long term lease 'went all the way to the top of the studio'.

He said: "Storage after a movie like Batman Forever becomes a real element. A lot of the sets get folded and held so they are available for the next picture if need be. We didn’t keep the cave, because the cave is so unwieldy.

"You had to make the cave each time. All the unused bat costumes. All the wardrobe saved. The actors would like to walk off with pieces, and we have to be very careful that that happens to an absolute minimum."

Schwarzenegger wanted to keep his costume as a memento (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Macgregor-Scott continued: "Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted a costume of Mr. Freeze. It went all the way up to the top of the studio. He had to sign a contract, and I think he pays $1 per year to borrow the costume.

"The lights in those costumes last 9,000 hours. He doesn’t have them on all day long, but he does turn them on quite frequently."

To be fair, it's not like Arnie needs the money.

UNILAD has contacted representatives for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Warner Bros. for comment.