Snapshot: August 1-3, 1997
By Joel West
March 27, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Well...at least the studios started trying in August 1997.
The dog days of summer traditionally begin to show at the Cineplex that first weekend in August. For about two and a half months prior, the studios unload their box office superpowers to the movie-going public. Audiences show up in droves, likely to beat the heat, and enjoy two hours of mindless entertainment. However, when July ends and August begins, the movie quality drops significantly and movie-goers tend to stay away (or check out the blockbusters they might have missed).
In August 1993, Warner Bros. discovered a secret weapon - Harrison Ford. The Fugitive not only opened big ($23.7 million), but stayed big throughout the month (finishing with $183 million). A year later, Paramount Pictures tried a similar tactic with the third entry in the Jack Ryan franchise, Clear and Present Danger. Ford delivered again with a $20 million opening and a $122 million finish. Sony Pictures altered the formula a tad, releasing Air Force One the last weekend of July '97. Ford dominated a third time, opening his presidential flick to a huge $37 million. Clearly the man is the cure for the summer time blues.
Ford looked to top the box office with Air Force One for a second consecutive weekend, but would there be any challengers the first three days of August?
Surprisingly, there were some worthy competitors. The insanely popular comic book hero Spawn was getting his big screen debut, while Friends star Jennifer Aniston was getting her first chance at leading lady status in Picture Perfect. At the lower end of box office expectations, the potential kiddie-franchise Air Bud, Samuel L. Jackson's 187, and Neil LaBute's directorial debut In the Company of Men were also opening.
Leading the pack was obviously Spawn. While comic book incarnations were not in abundance as they are now, even the crappiest of such (that summer's Batman and Robin grossed $107 million) still packed them in...for at least one weekend (Batman and Robin opened to $42 million). Boasting absolutely zero star power (although Martin Sheen, D.B. Sweeney, and John Leguizamo fans could guarantee at least $76 dollars of business) and an unproven director, Spawn was instead investing its $40 million budget on special effects to populate the character's origins. Spawn creator Todd McFarlane was reportedly very involved in the film's production, so fans could rest comfortably knowing their anti-hero should translate well to the big screen. However, the film's PG-13 rating did raise some concern; this comic was renowned for being extremely violent. Toning Spawn down to appeal to mainstream audiences did not inspire much faith in fans; this was in fact a superhero who killed his adversaries as opposed to the PG-13 exploits of Superman and Batman. The double-edged sword of trying to please the hardcore fans as well conventional audiences is and will always be a tricky feat. Spawn, while popular with fanboys, was not as well known outside the comic book reading populace as the aforementioned cape crusaders. All fans could do was hope that McFarlane was satisfied with the end product.
The weekend's other big debut was then TV-star Jennifer Aniston's Picture Perfect. While she had appeared in some films (She's the One, Leprechaun), Aniston was still the last Friend to open a film with her name above the title. Unfortunately, the other Friends had not been very profitable at the box office. David Schwimmer flopped in 1996's The Pallbearer ($5.6 million) as did Matt LeBlanc in the same year's Ed ($4.4 million). Matthew Perry fared a tad better in 1997's Fools Rush In ($29 million) which was identical to Lisa Kudrow's success in Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion (also $29 million). Courteney Cox had only really appeared in an ensemble and she picked a winner in Scream ($103 million). Despite Cox, the Friends' cast had largely taken their respective sitcom characters and gave them the big screen RomCom-treatment. Aniston was no different as her Picture Perfect character was a dead-ringer for Rachel Green (come on, you know who I am talking about). The only RomCom competition was the two month old My Best Friend's Wedding ($127 million), so fans of the genre were ready for something new. Would her romantic comedy debut be in line with Ross/Joey numbers, Chandler/Phoebe numbers, or a Monica breakout?
Tapping the kids' demographic for the weekend was Air Bud, a film about a Golden Retriever that plays football. Luckily for parents, Hercules ($99 million) and George of the Jungle ($105 million) were still in theaters.
Clearly being released in the wrong season were 187 and In the Company of Men. Granted, it is admirable that the studios released films with a social commentary during the summer, but these were both pretty grim fare. Please don't misinterpret my view of the films' quality (this isn't that type of column and I actually really like both), but audiences are supposed to feel bad around the holidays, not summer.
Regardless, 187 was Kevin Reynolds' (Waterworld, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) low budget (i.e. Costner-less) return to the big screen. Samuel L. Jackson starred in this anti-Dangerous Minds where the teacher battles the students as opposed to teaching them. Since Jackson's success three years prior in Pulp Fiction, he had largely appeared in either ensemble pieces (Kiss of Death, A Time to Kill) or as the sidekick in action romps (The Long Kiss Goodnight, Die Hard with a Vengeance). His one lead role was 1996's The Great White Hype and it died a quick painless death at $8 million. Clearly, Jackson wasn't just yet the unpredictable box office draw he is today (Lakeview Terrace - $39 million, The Spirit - $19 million).
In the Company of Men told the crowd pleasing tale of two men who conspire to exploit the affections of a deaf woman. Never expected to be a cross-over hit, this uncompromising satire did introduce us to the talents of LaBute (Nurse Betty, The Shape of Things, The Wicker Man?!) and Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Thank You for Smoking). Good reviews were both these original films were hoping for to propel them to moderate box office (and some year end consideration).
Ford was largely expected to reclaim the top spot at the box office, but the hordes of Spawn and RomCom fans were going to give him a run for his millions.
When the weekend came to a close, Ford had indeed reclaimed his throne with a reported $25 million. Following much closer than expected was Spawn with $21 million (midnight screenings included). Way back in fifth (!) place was Picture Perfect with a very disappointing $7.8 million (the three-week old George of the Jungle and five-week old Men in Black each made $8 million). Air Bud did okay with $4.8 million and 187 was DOA with $2 million. In very limited release, In the Company of Men did well making $100,000.
Ford's Air Force One was clearly a box office behemoth grossing $172 million over its run. Prior to its release, Ford had actually fallen on hard times at the box office. Attempting to stretch from the reluctant hero roles, Ford had himself tried a RomCom (1995's Sabrina - $53 million) and a political drama (1997's The Devil's Own - $42 million) to less than stellar results. However, the novelty of seeing Indiana Jones/Han Solo as an ass-kicking president was a no-brainer to restore his box office clout.
The die-hards ignored the critical drubbings and showed up in force for Spawn's opening weekend. Despite the big opening, Spawn unfortunately helped solidify the norm of a cult favorite being nothing more than a one weekend wonder by dropping off the face of the Earth after its first three days. While a total gross of $54 million was nothing to frown about, the overall crappy quality of the film halted any chances of a sequel. Plans of the ever popular reboot have been tossed around for years and rightfully so. In today's anti-hero climate, Spawn should have no trouble translating perfectly to the big screen...in the right hands of course (i.e. spend some money on talent). *Tangent Alert - When adapting a cult icon, don't alienate the fan base in order to appeal to the mainstream for a potential franchise. Say what one will about the quality of the current Watchmen, no one could argue whether director Zach Snyder was making his epic for fans or everyone else. Sure it is front-loaded both commercially ($55 million opening to maybe a $110 final gross) and anatomy-wise, but at least it had teeth. And come on haters, be thankful it wasn't the quality of Spawn!***
Aniston's transition to big screen success was stalled by the poor performance of Picture Perfect ($31 million). As happens with most TV-to-film conversions, audiences would rather watch the actor/actress for free rather than drop money to see arguably the same character on the big screen. Why not give paying audiences a performance they wouldn't see otherwise every Thursday at 7:00? Aniston for the most part floundered at the box office until she started pairing with popular funny men (Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty - $242 million, Ben Stiller in Along Came Polly - $88 million, and Vince Vaughn in The Break-Up - $118 million). While it remains unlikely Aniston will ever give an un-Rachel like performance, she has obviously found a successful niche that eluded her other Friends.
Air Bud ultimately made $23 million and currently has a very successful direct-to-DVD franchise going on. The power of dogs, sigh.
The weekend's smaller movies, 187 and In the Company of Men, finished their runs with $5.7 million and $2.8 million, respectfully. Jackson over his career has earned the reputation of starring in everything, some of it crappy, some not. Occasionally, small gems that nobody sees, like 187 and Black Snake Moan ($9 million), pop up and remind us what a vibrant talent he is, but for the most part we get Snakes on a Plane ($34 million) and Jumper ($80 million). Despite being unable to say "No," he has been able to establish himself as semi-successful box office draw. 187 was just released during the wrong month and has been unfairly forgotten throughout the years; whereas, In the Company of Men has rightfully earned the reputation as a cult favorite. While LaBute has hit an artistic wall in his transition to a mainstream director (again with The Wicker Man), he is still a talent that can't be ignored. Eckhart has taken a little longer to catch on (surely 2003's The Core didn't help), but his critical and commercial successes in 2006's Thank You for Smoking and The Dark Knight have rightfully put him on the brink of A-list stardom.
The Verdict: Easy, when Ford is in hero mode in a late summer action vehicle, stay away. In the late '90s, studios slowly started unloading their big guns in early August as opposed to dumping their crap films (that dumping ground is now called early September). Sure Picture Perfect and Spawn weren't outright blockbusters, but they each carried a buzz that wasn't normally released so late in the summer. These days, August has evolved into a rather reliable time to release potential blockbusters (2008 itself saw The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - $102 million, Pineapple Express - $87 million, and Tropic Thunder - $110 million perform well).