Marquee History
Weeks 25-27, 2016
By Max Braden
July 6, 2016
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Sequels, sequels, sequels! July 4th’s anniversary movies feature some record breakers as well as iconic fan favorites. This edition stretches back to 1981.
Here are the movies that premiered on theater marquees this week...
10 years ago
Click - June 23, 2006
Adam Sandler had another hit with this comedy in which he plays a family man with a remote control that can speed up time. Click opened at #1 with $40 million from 3,749 theaters and went on to gross $137 million from its domestic run, plus another $100 million from overseas markets. Cars came in at #2 with $23.2 million in its third weekend, and the only other wide opening movie, Tyrese Gibson’s crime thriller Waist Deep, opened at #5 with $9.4 million from 1,004 theaters and went on to gross $21.3 million.
Superman Returns - June 28, 2006
The first Superman film in two decades stars Brandon Routh, with Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey as Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. The story takes place after the events of 1980’s Superman II. Superman Returns opened on the Wednesday before July 4th, which fell on the Tuesday the following week. By the 4th it had earned $108 million in the U.S. from 4,065 theaters heading toward a relatively so-so $200 million total (considering a $260 million budget), with another $191 million from overseas markets. There would be no sequel for Routh; Henry Cavill stepped in for a complete reboot in 2013 and 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The Devil Wears Prada - June 30, 2006
Superman may have won the box office this weekend, but this Anne Hathaway/Meryl Streep comedy about the fashion business won audiences and critics. Streep was later nominated for a Best Actress Oscar and won the Golden Globe for her role. Prada opened at #2 with $27.5 million over three days from 2,847 theaters and eventually grossed a total of $124 million, all on a shabby chic budget of just $35 million.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - July 7, 2006
The second film in Disney’s swashbuckler adventure franchise brings back Johnny Depp and the cast of The Curse of the Black Pearl, this time chasing after the beating heart of Davy Jones (Bill Nighy underneath some tentacle effects) and his Flying Dutchman. Opening 4,133 theaters, its $135 million took the opening weekend record from Spider-Man and the single day record from Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Dead Man’s Chest was also the highest grossing film of the year with $423 million from the U.S. and a total of $1.06 billion worldwide. And in limited release this weekend, Richard Linklater’s rotoscope-animated mindbender A Scanner Darkly starred Robert Downey Jr. and Keanu Reeves.
15 years ago
The Fast and the Furious - June 22, 2001
Who’d have thought that this little heist film would launch such a huge franchise? This film can also claim a significant influence on real-world car culture and customization. The Fast and Furious had a strong opening at #1 with $40 million from 2,628 theaters and brought in a total of $144 million. Paul Walker returned for the sequel without Vin Diesel in 2003, the original cast was reunited in the fourth film, and Dwayne Johnson joined the franchise with the fifth film. The eighth entry in the franchise is planned for release in April 2017. Also this weekend, Eddie Murphy’s comedy Dr. Doolittle 2 opened at #2 with $25 million and an eventual total of $112 million, underperforming the first Doolittle remake and both of Murphy’s Nutty Professor comedies.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence - June 29, 2001
Steven Spielberg’s futuristic drama stars Haley Joel Osment as a family robot companion. Reviews were good but U.S. audiences didn’t flock to it like Spielberg’s more famous adventures. A.I. opened at #1 with $29 million from 3,242 theaters and earned $78 million domestically but double that from foreign markets. Also opening this weekend: Director John Singleton’s drama Baby Boy opened at #5 with $8.6 million; the Kirsten Dunst romance crazy/beautiful opened at #9 with $4.7 million; and Chris Rock’s raunchy comedy Pootie Tang took in $1.5 million from 712 theaters.
Cats & Dogs - July 4, 2001
Warner Bros. family-friendly adventure mixes CGI pets with live action settings in a plot about a secret high-tech battle between the species for world domination. Opening on the Wednesday holiday, Cats & Dogs won a close battle for #1 with $21.7 million over five days at 3,040 theaters. It would go on to earn $93 million domestically. The Wayans Brothers horror spoof Scary Movie 2 came in at #2 with $20.5 million and earned a total of $71 million - both totals being less than half of its predecessor’s box office performance. Luc Besson’s action thriller Kiss of the Dragon opened at #4 with $13.3 million. Kiss of the Dragon is my favorite Jet Li martial arts film, in equal part thanks to Thierry Arbogast’s excellent cinematography.
20 years ago
Eraser - June 21, 1996
After a weak point with the holiday comedy Junior, Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the top of the box office in this action thriller with Vanessa Williams and James Caan. Eraser opened at #1 with $24.5 million from 2,410 and earned $101 million in the U.S. (his fifth $100+ million hit) and an additional $141 million from foreign markets. Disney’s animated musical adventure The Hunchback of Notre Dame wasn’t far behind, though, opening at #2 with $21.0 million. It also crossed the $100 million mark domestically as part of a $325 million worldwide total.
The Nutty Professor - June 28, 1996
Remaking the 1963 Jerry Lewis comedy, but in a fat suit, Eddie Murphy scored his biggest hit since Coming to America and wiped away the criticism he suffered from David Spade for A Vampire in Brooklyn’s flop. The Nutty Professor opened at #1 with $25.4 million from 2,115 theaters and earned $128 million domestically. That success led to a sequel four years later. Striptease, on the other hand, was slammed this weekend with terrible reviews. Demi Moore’s adult-oriented drama was a polar opposite of her voice work in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which held over at #3. Striptease opened at #4 with $12.3 million, earned just $33 million in the U.S., and later won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture of the year as well as Worst Actress, Director, Screenplay, Song, and Screen Couple (with Burt Reynolds).
Independence Day - July 3, 1996
The initial draw for audiences was surely the image of an alien ship completely obliterating the White House, but it was Will Smith who made this film a hit (still the biggest box office success of his career). Bill Pullman’s battle speech has also helped the film endure as an icon of American July 4th sentiments. “ID4” took the fastest-to-$100-million record from Jurassic Park, reducing it from nine days to six, and also set the fastest-to-$200-million record on the way to a domestic total of $306 million. Pullman and Jeff Goldblum returned for the 2016 sequel to comparatively disappointing box office results. Also opening this weekend, John Travolta’s sci-fi drama Phenomenon came in at #3 with $16 million but had strong legs and finished with $104 million domestically.
25 years ago
Dying Young - June 21, 1991
Julia Roberts’s weepy romance was a miss compared to her February hit Sleeping With the Enemy. With Prince of Thieves and City Slickers holding the #1 and #2 spots with a combined $29 million over the weekend, Dying Young opened at #3 with $9.7 million from 1,552 theaters and only earned $33 million in the U.S. The 1930’s comic book adventure The Rocketeer opened close behind at #4 with $9.6 million and grossed a total of $46 million.
The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear - June 28, 1991
Leslie Nielsen went from supporting actor in 1980’s Airplane! to lead role in the 1988 cop spoof The Naked Gun, both from writers Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, and both box office hits. This sequel bought back the original cast and performed even better than its predecessor, opening at #1 with $20.8 million from 2,378 theaters and earning a total of $87 million, putting it at #10 among 1991 releases. Nielsen returned for the third and final entry in the series in 1994.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day - July 3, 1991
Though the first Terminator film had a moderate box office presence, its fans and Schwarzenegger’s growing stardom through the 1980s set up this sequel to be the biggest hit of his career. Previously the villain, Schwarzenegger’s cyborg model returns to protect young John Connor (Edward Furlong) from a more advanced liquid metal terminator played by Robert Patrick. The film’s sound and special effects earned the film four Oscars along with nominations for Best Cinematography and Editing. Terminator 2 opened on the Wednesday before the Thursday holiday, and by Sunday had earned $52.3 million from 2,274 theaters. It went on to become the highest grossing film of the year with $204 million from domestic markets as part of a $519 million total, and is still the best box office performance of Schwarzenegger’s career. Also new this weekend was John Ritter’s fatherhood comedy Problem Child 2, which opened at #5 with $5.3 million, earning a total of $25.1 million - half of its predecessor’s numbers.
30 years ago
The Karate Kid Part II - June 20, 1986
Ralph Macchio’s teen martial arts drama The Karate Kid was a top five hit for the year in 1984, and even earned Pat Morita an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In this sequel Daniel and Mr. Miyagi travel to Japan and fight to resolve issues of honor. This film outperformed its predecessor and was the most successful of the first four films until the series remake in 2010. Part II opened at #1 with #12.6 million from 1,323 theaters and grossed $115 million, putting it at #4 of the year’s releases. Also this weekend, Robert Redford and Debra Winger star in Ivan Reitman’s Legal Eagles, which opened at #2 with $8.0 million and went on to gross $49 million.
June 27, 1986
This weekend’s new releases were no match for previous releases, with The Karate Kid Part II holding #1 with $8.8 million. Danny DeVito and Bette Midler’s comedy Ruthless People opened at #4 with $5.2 million from 1,111 theaters and became a top ten hit for the year with $71 million. Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines brought in a near tie at #5 with their cop comedy Running Scared. Jim Henson’s fantasy/musical Labyrinth, starring Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie, opened at #8 with $3.5 million. And the Olympic-hopeful gymnastics drama American Anthem, starring real-life gold medalist Mitch Gaylord, took in $1.8 million from 800 theaters at #9.
July 4, 1986
Similar to the previous weekend, The Karate Kid Part II again held the #1 spot with $6.2 million. The weekend’s top new release, Psycho III, opened at #8 with $3.2 million. Following closely from #9 through #12 were Disney’s animated adventure The Great Mouse Detective,, Rob Lowe and Demi Moore’s romantic comedy About Last Night…, Prince in Under the Cherry Moon, (grossing a total of $10 million compared to Purple Rain’s $68 million), and Kurt Russell’s sci-fi adventure comedy Big Trouble in Little China.
35 years ago
Since five of 1981’s top 10 box office hits were released in June, I figure they merit an extension to this edition of Marquee History:
Raiders of the Lost Ark - June 12, 1981
Not only a huge box office hit, the film won four Oscars (and a Special Achievement Award for sound effects editing) plus nominations for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Original Score, as well as a Writers Guild Award nomination. Its $8 million opening weekend was less than The Empire Strikes Back’s June 1980 opening weekend, but like these early 1980s hits, Raiders of the Lost Ark just kept going and going: $125 million by Labor Day, $150 million by Thanksgiving, $212 million by the end of the following spring, leading to a re-release in the summer of 1982, which brought its total up to $248 million. Also new in theaters his weekend: Clash of the Titans and History of the World, Part I, which provided teenage boys with years and years of naughty quotations; decades later, it’s still a guilty pleasure.
Superman II - June 19, 1981
Superman II was the third highest grossing film of 1981 with $108 million, which was actually less than its predecessor’s $134 million gross in 1978/1979. But what made Superman II more significant was its opening weekend of $14.1 million, which was at least $4 million more than the previous weekend record holder. This was the beginning of the opening weekend wars as a box office priority; by the 1990’s, films with long legs had become a rarity. Superman II’s record would last only a year before it was broken (barely) by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It would be tripled by the end of the decade.
The Cannonball Run - June 19, 1981
Prior to the The Fast and the Furious generation, Burt Reynolds was the king of car films due to his roles in Smokey and the Bandit, Stroker Ace, and Cannonball Run I & II. The first Bandit film grossed $126 million in 1977, but The Cannonball Run’s $72 million was enough to place it at #6 for the year. In the film, Reynolds and Dom DeLuise decide to be crafty and drive an ambulance, but it was the variety of exotic cars driven by other characters (including the iconic Lamborghini Countach, a wall poster favorite of the 1980’s) that made this the car film of its day.
For Your Eyes Only - June 24, 1981
The twelfth James Bond film and fifth starring Roger Moore takes place in Greece with a plot surrounding a nuclear weapon tracking device. Sheena Easton’s title song was nominated for a Grammy and an Oscar. The film’s $54 million gross put it at #9 for the year.
Stripes - June 26, 1981
Bill Murray was enjoying rising fame due to Saturday Night Live and his supporting role in Caddyshack as he took on this lead role in this Army comedy. This was his second collaboration with Ivan Reitman and third with Harold Ramis; the group would work together again on Ghostbusters. Stripes was the #5 box office hit of the year with $85 million. Also new in theaters this weekend: The Great Muppet Caper, which is my favorite of the series, due largely to Charles Grodin’s performance.
Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!