Marquee History
Week 40 - 2015
By Max Braden
October 2, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com
This week's highlights are the 30th anniversaries of Jagged Edge and Commando (an October opening weekend record setter), and a bad pair for Stallone.
Here are the movies that premiered on theater marquees this week...
10 years ago - October 7, 2005
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
UK studio Aardman Animations first developed their claymation characters Wallace (an inventor) and his voiceless dog Gromit at the end of the 1980s, winning Oscars for shorts The Wrong Trousers in 1993 and A Close Shave in 1995. The studio’s first full-length movie was Chicken Run in 2000. Peter Sallis (in his early eighties) voices Wallace and Ralph Fiennes and Helen Bonham Carter voice other characters in the movie. Curse of the Were-Rabbit opened to great reviews and went on to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film and the BAFTA award for Best British Film. Curse of the Were-Rabbit opened at #1 by unseating Flightplan with $16 million on 3,645 screens. It eventually grossed $56 million in the U.S., well over its production budget. A Wallace & Gromit video game was released in 2009, with Ben Whitehead providing the voice for Wallace.
In Her Shoes
Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette play sisters (the wild one and the conservative one respectively) in this comedy drama based on the novel by Jennifer Weiner. Shirley MacLaine plays their grandmother and won both the Golden Globe and Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress. Collette won the Satellite Award for Best Actress. In Her Shoes opened at #3 with $10 million on 2,808 screens. It went on to gross $32 million domestically.
Two For the Money
Matthew McConaughey and Al Pacino costar in this sports betting drama, with Rene Russo playing the love interest and Jeremy Piven playing a rival. This was McConaughey’s second movie of 2005 after the much more prominent Sahara. Reviews for Two For the Money were poor, leading to a #4 opening with $8.7 million on 2,391 screens. It eventually grossed just under $23 million domestically.
The Gospel
In his first major role, Idris Elba plays a church reverend in this modern tale of the prodigal son, played by Boris Kodjoe. Rob Hardy wrote and directed this faith-based film. Reviews were not good, but the movie earned three nominations at the Black Reel awards, for Elba, supporting actress Nona Gaye, and for Hardy’s screenplay. Opening on only 969 screens, The Gospel took the #5 spot with $7.5 million, the strongest per-site average of the weekend’s wide openers. It eventually grossed $15.7 million.
Waiting...
An example of one of those Hollywood fairy tales that gets people to move there with big dreams, first-time writer-director Rob McKittrick wrote this comedy about a restaurant while he was a waiter. Ryan Reynolds had recently gained popular attention with 2004’s Blade: Trinity and then the remake of The Amityville Horror earlier in 2005. Waiting puts his sarcastic charm up front among an ensemble cast, including Anna Faris, Justin Long, Luis Guzman, Chi McBride, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Dane Cook as his comedy career was taking off. Reviews were not good, but it’s one of those who-cares kind of comedies that audiences forgive. Waiting opened at #7 with $6.0 million on half the screens of Flightplan. It eventually grossed $16.1 million and was followed by a sequel (without the now famous lead stars) called Still Waiting four years later.
Good Night, and Good Luck
Probably the most talked about movie of the weekend was this black & white depiction of journalist Edward R. Murrow, releasing on only 11 screens. This was the second movie directed by George Clooney, who co-wrote the script with Grant Heslov and even self-financed the production. David Strathairn plays Murrow, with Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., and Patricia Clarkson costarring. Reviews were stellar, and the film later earned Oscar nominations for Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, and Actor (Strathairn). It’s interesting to look back at reviews from the time and see little or no mention of how the movie’s political critique fit into the current environment of increasing criticism of U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq. Good Night, and Good Luck expanded through October and November to a peak of just over 800 screens (with a later 929 screen release in February for its Oscar buzz), and earned a total of $31 million in the U.S before it left theaters in March 2006.
Also opening in limited release this weekend: Where the Truth Lies (Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, Alison Lohman), and The Squid and the Whale (Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, Anna Paquin. Noah Baumbach’s screenplay later received an Oscar nomination.)
15 years ago - October 6, 2000
Meet the Parents
This wildly successful comedy stars Ben Stiller as a future son-in-law to the stern father played by Robert De Niro. Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, and Owen Wilson costar. Director Jay Roach was coming off the first two Austin Powers movies, Stiller had had a big hit with 1998’s There’s Something About Mary, and De Niro had starred in his first comedy in 1999 with Analyze This. All that pedigree and good reviews led Meet the Parents to score the biggest October opening weekend to date, breaking the record held by Antz. Meet the Parents opened at #1, taking down Remember the Titans (still showing a strong $7,112 per site average), with $28.6 million on 2,614 screens. When it finally left theaters the following March, Meet the Parents had grossed $166 million. The sequel, Meet the Fockers, was even more successful in 2004.
Get Carter
Between 1996 and 2006, Sylvester Stallone’s career was in a slump. One praised role - 1997’s Cop Land - sat among a series of box office disappointments, and Get Carter was the low point. Stallone stars as mob enforcer Jack Carter in the remake of Michael Caine’s 1971 thriller. Mickey Rourke, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Miranda Richardson costar. Reviews were poor, and Stallone ended up receiving a Worst Actor nomination at the Golden Raspberry Awards. Get Carter opened at #3 with $6.6 million, Stallone’s worst opening since Oscar in 1991. Grossing less than $15 million, it turned out to be Stallone’s weakest performer in almost 20 years.
Digimon: The Movie
Following the success of two Pokemon films released in 1998 and 1999, this kid-friendly movie (about Digital Monsters) was edited from previously released Japanese movies to create one movie for American audiences. Reviews were poor but the movie helped continue the brand, which has continued to expand up through 2015. Digimon: The Movie opened at #4 with $4.2 million on 1,823 screens and a weak per-site average. It eventually grossed $9.6 million in the U.S.
Requiem for a Dream
Releasing on only two screens this weekend and peaking on fewer than 100 screens, audiences didn’t really get to see this movie in theaters, but it certainly gained attention from critics. Director Darren Aronofsky’s second film is based on Hubert Selby Jr.’s novel about drug addiction. Among the cast of Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayons, Jared Leto, and Christopher McDonald, Ellen Burstyn stood out and was later nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars. In order to avoid an NC-17 rating for sexual content the film was released Unrated. The subject matter is often described as bleak and depressing, but critics praised the movie for its visual style, as they have continued to do throughout Aronofsky’s filmography. Requiem for a Dream eventually earned $3.6 million
Also opening in limited release this weekend: Bamboozled (from Spike Lee, starring Damon Wayans).
20 years ago - October 6, 1995
Assassins
As mentioned above in Get Carter, here’s one of those lackluster Stallone movies at the start of his slump. He stars along with Antonio Banderas as a couple of rival hit-men, directed by Richard Donner. The original script came from the Wachowski brothers but was rewritten by Brian Helgeland. Reviews were poor and Stallone was nominated for Worst Actor at the Golden Raspberry Awards. (This is a terrible week for Stallone to release movies.) Assassins failed to unseat Se7en in its third week in theaters, and came in at #2 with $9.3 million on 2,343 screens. Eventually it earned $30 million, falling far short of its $50 million budget.
Dead Presidents
The second movie from Menace II Society directors The Hughes Brothers is a crime drama starring Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, and Bokeem Woodbine as Vietnam veterans who turn to crime when they find no support on returning to America. Terrence Howard appears in one of his early roles and Martin Sheen has a small role. Reviews were mixed. The official soundtrack rose to #1 on the Hip Hop charts, prompting the release of a second soundtrack. Dead Presidents opened at #3 with $7.9 million on only 1,081 screens, the strongest per-site average of the weekend. It eventually grossed $24 million.
How to Make an American Quilt
An ensemble drama about women who tell their stories of relationships with men as the main character prepares to be married. Winona Ryder stars alongside Anne Bancroft, Samantha Mathis, Maya Angelou, and Alfre Woodard. Both Claire Danes and Jared Leto (in his first film role) appear, having costarred together in the TV series My So Called Life… earlier in the year. Reviews were mixed, but the cast was nominated together at the Screen Actors Guild awards, and Winona Ryder and Dermot Mulroney were nominated for Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards. How to Make an American Quilt opened at #5 with $5.7 million on 1,504 screens. It eventually earned $23 million.
Releasing in limited release this weekend: Kicking and Screaming, Noah Baumbach’s first film.
25 years ago - October 5, 1990
Marked for Death
Highlighting the epidemic of drug crime in the country, Steven Seagal’s third martial arts movie has him starring as a DEA agent who takes on a Jamaican gang in his home town. Keith David costars. Marked for Death opened bigger than Hard to Kill, but earned just about the same overall gross. Marked For Death opened at #1, taking down Pacific Heights from the previous week, with $11,7 million on 1,968 screens. It eventually earned $6 million.
Fantasia (1940)
Disney’s classic features a number of animated segments set to the music of classical composers. Mickey Mouse stars as The Sorcerer's Apprentice, hippos dance, and spirits swirl around Bald Mountain. Originally released in November 1940, it celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2015. The movie had been reissued times over the years, and for its 50th anniversary it was completely remastered. I was a teenager in 1990 and despite being a fan of martial arts and action films, I went to see this reissue with a buddy of mine because we knew the historical significance of it (and I guess we figured it would make us a little more sophisticated. I struggled to stay awake but I do remember enjoying it.) This reissue of Fantasia opened at #2 with $6.0 million on 481 screens. It earned $25 million during this run.
Desperate Hours
Mickey Rourke stars in this escaped convict/home invasion crime drama, remade from the 1955 movie. Anthony Hopkins Mimi Rogers, Shawnee Smith, Elias Koteas, and David Morse costar. Reviews were not good, and Mickey Rourke was nominated as Worst Actor at the Golden Raspberry Awards (there seems to be a lot of that going around this week). Desperate Hours opened at #9 with $1.3 million on 1,033 screens. It eventually earned just $2.7 million.
Henry & June
Henry & June was released on only 76 screens this weekend but gained attention as an NC-17 rated film with plenty of sexualization. The Unbearable Lightness of Being’s Oscar-nominated writer Philip Kaufman wrote and directed this movie, which stars Fred Ward as writer Henry Miller, and Uma Thurman as his wife, set in 1930s Paris. Kevin Spacey appears in a minor role. Reviews were more interested in the visual style than anything else, and the film later received an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography. Audience interest was strong, giving it $1 million for the weekend, an average even higher than Fantasia. It expanded through October to a few hundred screens and eventually earned $11.5 million.
Avalon
Also in very limited this weekend was Avalon, from director Barry Levinson and starring Armin Mueller-Stahl as the head of a Jewish immigrant family assimilating into 1950’s Baltimore. Kevin Pollak, Aidan Quinn, and Elijah Wood costar. Reviews were strong, and the movie received four Oscar nominations, for Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design, and Original Score by Randy Newman. Avalon expanded to a peak of 635 screens in October and November and eventually grossed $15.7 million.
30 years ago - October 4, 1985
Commando
Arnold Schwarzenegger had already established himself in movies by 1985, with two roles as Conan, Red Sonja, and the success of The Terminator in October 1984. Commando, though, was where audiences got to start seeing him as a modern action hero with some humor and one-liners. Schwarzenegger plays ex-Delta Force commando John Matrix, who is drawn out of a quiet life when his daughter, played by Alyssa Milano (now in her second season of Who’s the Boss?) is kidnapped. Rae Dawn Chong costars as the flight attendant who helps reluctantly, but it’s probably David Patrick Kelly's scenes as villainous thug Sully that are the most memorable: “You’re a funny guy, Sully, I like you. That’s why I’m going to kill you last.” Bill Duke also provides an imposing opponent. Reviews of the action flick were good and audiences made Commando #1 for the weekend with $7.7 million on 1,495 screens, taking the October opening weekend record from Stallone’s First Blood set in 1982. (Stallone still handily won the 1985 rivalry with May’s release of First Blood II, earning $20 million on its opening weekend in May and $150 million overall). Commando went on to earn $35 million.
Jagged Edge
Glenn Close’s acting career started strong right out of the gate - three consecutive Oscar nominations for her first three films: The World According to Garp, The Big Chill, and The Natural. Thanks to a script by Joe Eszterhas, Close takes on a more passionate role in his courtroom thriller as a lawyer who gets intimately involved with a murder suspect played by Jeff Bridges. Peter Coyote plays the prosecutor and Robert Loggia plays a private eye. Reviews were good and Loggia was later nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. Jagged Edge opened at #2 with $4 million on 1,125 screens and outperformed Commando during its run with a total $40 million gross.
Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!