Marquee History
August 2016
By Max Braden
September 5, 2016
BoxOfficeProphets.com
August's movie anniversaries include plenty of dogs in the dog days of summer, but we have the record-breaking Rush Hour 2 and some fun memories from 1986 in this edition.
Here are the movies that premiered on theater marquees in August...
10 years ago
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - August 4, 2006
Two years after Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Will Ferrell and writer/director Adam McKay teamed up again for another outrageous comedy. This one is both a love letter and send up of NASCAR culture. Ferrell’s Ricky Bobby's 100% self-confident driver has the trophy wife, big house, and two sons named Walker and Texas Ranger. After losing his mojo due to competition with a French teammate, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, Ricky Bobby relearns how to drive with a live cougar as a distraction in his car. Together, he and friend Cal (John C. Reilly) share enthusiastic non-sensical phrases like “Shake and bake!”
Ferrell and Reilly teamed up together again with McKay in 2008 for Step Brothers. Talladega Nights took the #1 spot for the weekend with $47.0 million from 3,803 theaters, making it the third best August opening ever and the best opening weekend of Ferrell’s career. Other new films this weekend: the animated farm comedy Barnyard: The Original Party Animals (#2 with $15.8 million), spelunking/sci-fi horror The Descent (#5 with $8.9 million - worth watching if you haven’t seen it before), and the Robin Williams drama The Night Listener (#10 with $3.5 million). Talladega Nights held the #1 spot in its second weekend and went on to earn a total of $148 million.
Step Up - August 4, 2006
This weekend’s best performing opener was Channing Tatum’s step forward to stardom. He costars in this romance/dance drama with Jenna Dewan as a mismatched working class street dancer and upper class ballet dancer who compete in an arts school showcase, falling for each other in the process. Tatum and Dewan continued the romance and married in 2009. Step Up opened at #2 with $20.6 million from 2,467 theaters. This was slightly less than the 2001’s Save the Last Dance, but Step Up’s $65 million gross spawned a franchise with four sequels (each with diminishing totals) and eventual stardom for Tatum. Also new this weekend: Oliver Stone and Nicolas Cage’s World Trade Center (#3, $18.7 million), Wes Craven’s horror remake of Kairo, Pulse (#5, $8.2 million), and Tim Allen’s family friendly youth superhero adventure Zoom (#9, $4.5 million).
Snakes on a Plane - August 18, 2006
It doesn’t get much more on the nose than this - unless you’ve got a viper hanging off your face. In case you need a reminder why there are snakes on a plane: it’s a brilliant scheme to kill off a federal witness. Aside from all the ways in which the snakes go after the passengers, the most memorable scene of course is Samuel L. Jackson’s line: “Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane! Everybody strap in - I’m about to open some fucking windows.” It’s the kind of line that gets audiences in seats, putting Snakes on a Plane at #1 for the weekend with $13.8 million from 3,555 theaters (just edging out Ricky Bobby in his third week). The buzz was short-lived, though, as Snakes only earned $34 million over its run.
Also new this weekend: Justin Long’s college comedy Accepted (#5, $10.0 million), Hilary Duff’s comedy Material Girls (#9, $4.6 million), and Neil Burger’s period drama with Edward Norton and Jessica Biel, The Illusionist (limited release). The Illusionist was later nominated for an Oscar in cinematography.
Invincible - August 25, 2006
Mark Wahlberg stars as Vince Papale, the real life working class Philadelphia guy who walked on for Eagles tryouts and became a local hero in their 1976 season. Greg Kinnear co-stars as coach Dick Vermeil. It’s hard to beat Rudy, but this is a solid football film. Invincible opened at #1 with $17.0 million from 2,917 sites and went on to gross $57 million. Also new this weekend: the Broken Lizard comedy Beerfest (#4, $7 million), Andre Benjamin’s musical drama Idlewild (#9, $5.7 million), and the kids comedy How to Eat Fried Worms (#11, $4.0 million).
Heading into Labor Day weekend, Jason Statham’s non-stop action flick Crank opened at #2 with $10 million from 2,515 theaters and went on to gross $27.8 million (well above its budget). Others: Neil LaBute’s remake of The Wicker Man (starring Nicolas Cage in one of his least impressive roles, running around in a bear suit punching witches and overreacting to bees - #3, $9.6 million), Anthony Mackie’s basketball drama Crossover (#12, $3.7 million), and Mike Judge’s future comedy Idiocracy (limited release).
15 years ago
Rush Hour 2 - August 3, 2001
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker scored a big hit with their buddy cop comedy in 1998, breaking the September opening weekend record. This sequel was even bigger, smashing The Sixth Sense’s August opening record ($26.6 million in 1999) with $67.4 million. That record stood until The Bourne Ultimatum opened in 2007 (vs. Rush Hour 3 in the same month with $49.1 million) and was most recently set by Suicide Squad’s $133 million. Rush Hour 2 grossed $226 million, a top 5 result for the year. Another important hit this weekend was The Princess Diaries (#3, $22.8 million) which effectively launched Anne Hathaway’s stardom. Also new in theaters: the Antonio Banderas / Angelina Jolie erotic thriller Original Sin (#6, $6.4 million).
American Pie 2 - August 10, 2001
Like Rush Hour, this sequel built on a breakout original hit. Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Seann William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Alyson Hannigan return for some college partying. American Pie 2’s opening more than doubled its predecessor’s, taking the #1 spot with $45 million from 3,063 theaters. It went on to gross $145 million and was followed by less successful sequels in 2003 and 2012. Also new this weekend: Nicole Kidman in the Alejandro Amenabar ghost story The Others (#4, $14 million), Bill Murray in the Farrelly Brothers animated comedy Osmosis Jones (#7, $5.2 million), and one of the year’s most disturbing psychological horror films, Session 9 (limited release).
Rat Race - August 17, 2001
Rat Race was an ensemble road trip comedy from director Jerry Zucker, with Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, John Cleese, Cuba Gooding Jr., Seth Green and other comedians. Opening against the two stronger comedies American Pie 2 ($21.1 million) and Rush Hour 2 ($19.0 million), Rat Race took #3 with $11.6 million from 2,550 theaters. It managed to keep going and earned $56 million overall. Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz’s WWII romance Captain Corelli’s Mandolin opened at #6 with $7.2 million, and the Colin Farrell / Scott Caan / Ali Larter crime thriller American Outlaws opened at #8 with $4.8 million.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - August 24, 2001
Formerly side characters in Kevin Smith’s comedies, he and Jason Mewes get their own feature in a plot about a comic book based on their characters. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran, Jason Lee, Shannen Doherty and a large ensemble serve as supporting characters. American Pie 2 and Rush Hour 2 were still #1 and #2, putting Jay and Silent Bob at #3 with $11 million from 2,745 theaters. Its $30 million gross put it at the higher end of Smith’s View Askew films. Also new this weekend: Summer Catch (#6, $7.0 million), John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (#9, $3.8 million), The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (#11, $2.4 million), and Bubble Boy (#13, $2.0 million).
Jeepers Creepers- August 31, 2001
Justin Long stars in this teen horror film about a local killer in a beat up truck who takes the eyes (“those peepers”) from his victims. Jeepers Creepers opened at #1 with $15.8 million from 3,124 theaters over the four-day Labor Day weekend. That took the record previously held by The Crow: City of Angels in 1996. The 2003 Jeepers Creepers 2 (without Long) again set the Labor Day weekend record with an $18.3 million opening. Both films earned in the mid-30s overall. The one other new film this weekend was the high school adaption of Shakespeare’s O (#7, $5.5 million), starring Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, and Josh Hartnett.
20 years ago
Emma - August 2, 1996
With A Time to Kill and Independence Day holding the top two box office spots, the family-friendly Matilda ($8.2 million), directed by Danny Devito, and Keanu Reeves / Morgan Freeman sci-fi action flick Chain Reaction ($7.5 million) opened at #3 and #4. But the film with more significant legacy was Emma, starring Gwyneth Paltrow in the title role of Jane Austen’s English romance. The film won an Oscar for Rachel Portman’s original score and was nominated for costume design, but also received good reviews from critics and audiences who were in the midst of an Austen revival with adaptations of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice in 1995. Emma opened in limited release and only reached 725 theaters, but managed to gross $22.2 million and helped boost Paltrow’s lead actress career.
Jack - August 9, 2006
Robin Williams stars in this Francis Ford Coppola comedy drama as a young boy who is prematurely aging into the body of a man, making him a fish out of water for either group of peers. Reviews were poor but weak competition allowed Jack to take the #1 spot with $11.1 million from 1,710 theaters. A Time to Kill held the #2 spot in its third weekend, and Kurt Russell’s disappointing Snake Plissken sequel Escape From L.A. opened at #3 with $8.9 million.
Tin Cup - August 16, 1996
Forty-year-old Kevin Costner stars as a golfer with a self-discipline problem, who enters the U.S. Open to take down his rival (Don Johnson) and win the girl (Rene Russo). It’s like Top Gun, but with slower edits. Tin Cup may not have earned the accolades of Dances With Wolves, but it remains a fan favorite. The film opened at #1 with $10.1 million from 2,012 theaters and had the legs to gross $53.8 million. Also new this weekend: De Niro and Snipes in the obsessive thriller The Fan (#4, $6.2 million), family wilderness drama Alaska (#8, $2.9 million), the Tales from the Crypt horror movie Bordello of Blood (#9, $2.6 million), and family comedy House Arrest (#12, $2.2 million).
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The Island of Dr. Moreau - August 23, 1996
I’m a big fan of Val Kilmer’s, but even I have to admit this is probably the point where he started going off the rails. Though David Thewlis really stars in this adaptation of the H.G. Well’s novel, it’s Marlon Brando, who plays the mad scientist, and Kilmer’s bizarre mimicry of him that are more memorable. Audiences no doubt wanted to see for themselves why the reviews were so bad. The Island of Dr. Moreau opened at #1 with $9.1 million from 2,035 theaters and eventually earned $27.6 million. Also new this weekend: A Very Brady Sequel (#3, $7 million), Mario Van Peebles in the actioner Solo (#9, $2.2 million), romantic comedy She’s the One (#11, $2.0 million), and family comedy Carpool (#13, $1.6 million).
The Crow: City of Angels - August 23, 1996
Due to the death of Brandon Lee in filming the first Crow film, Vincent Perez stepped in to play the supernatural anti-hero. Despite poor reviews, the sequel debuted at #1 with $9.7 million from 2,423 theaters - a record for a Labor Day weekend opening, which was later broken by Jeepers Creepers five years later. The Crow: City of Angels went on to gross $17.9 million, less than half the gross of its predecessor. Also new this weekend: the Sinbad comedy First Kid (#3, $8.4 million), Kyle MacLachlan and Elisabeth Shue in The Trigger Effect (#12, $1.8 million), and Tom Arnold in the comedy The Stupids (#15, $1.5 million).
25 years ago
Hot Shots! - August 2, 1991
Writer-director Jim Abrahams sends up Top Gun in this spoof starring Charlie Sheen as hot shot Navy pilot Topper Harley. Valeria Golino plays his love interest, and Lloyd Bridges plays Rear Admiral Tug Benson. The comedy was a hit, landing at #1 ahead of Terminator 2 with $10,8 million from 1,929 theaters and going on to a total of $69 million. The country-vs-city comedy Doc Hollywood opened opened at #3 with $7.2 million. Its $54 million gross paled compared to Michael J. Fox’s Back to the Future franchise, but Doc Hollywood is one of those movies that remains easy to watch when it shows up on cable TV. At #8, the horror flick Body Parts took in $3 million, and at #16 Milla Jovovich starred in the sequel Return to the Blue Lagoon ($1.2 million against a $2.8 million total - barely a quarter of its budget).
Double Impact - August 9, 1991
What’s better than one Jean-Claude Van Damme? Jean-Claude playing his own brother! The result was Van Damme’s best box office performance to date, opening at #2 with $7.5 million and grossing $30.1 million. Also new this weekend: Martin Short and Danny Glover in Pure Luck (#5, $5.0 million), the family friendly dog adventure Bingo (#10, $2.1 million), and John Candy’s Delirious (#13, $1.8 million).
Hot Shots! held on to the #1 spot for the third weekend in August with $6.3 million, while the only new wide release, Mystery Date starring Ethan Hawke, opening down at #8 with $1.9 million. Hot Shots! again was #1 for the August 23rd weekend, while Kenneth Branagh’s Dead Again was the highest debuting film at #5 with $3.4 million from just 450 theaters. Dead Again spread to 745 theaters for the Labor Day weekend and was able to take the #1 spot with $6.3 million. Child’s Play 3 managed #3 over the holiday weekend with $5.7 million. The Coen brothers’ Barton Fink opened in limited release at 11 theaters and never spread higher than 200, but managed to bring in $6.1 million and eventually earned Oscar nominations for supporting actor Michael Lerner, Art Direction, and Costume Design.
30 years ago
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives - August 1, 1986
Though the Crystal Lake serial killer is definitely killed off in The Final Chapter (Part IV of the series), Jason Voorhees is resurrected by electricity in this sequel and becomes an undead serial killer. This horror sequel opened at #2 for the weekend behind Aliens in its third week ($7.0 million) with $6.7 million from 1,610 theaters and only brought in a total of $19.4 million, falling below the series’s previous low point set by Part 2 in 1981. The series continued in 1988 and through an 11th entry in 2003 before being rebooted in 2009.
Howard the Duck - August 1, 1986
Howard the Duck first appeared as a Marvel comic in 1973 but that probably didn’t matter to many teens who saw the trailer for this live action/animatronic version. Howard (voiced by Chip Zien) is transported from his home planet Duckworld to Ohio, where he is befriended by Beverly (Lea Thompson). Together with Tim Robbins’s character Phil, they try to transport back to his home planet while facing off against the Dark Lord of the Universe (manifested in the body of Jeffrey Jones; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off fell out of the top ten in its eighth week this weekend). Reviews were terrible and the film received Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Special Effects, and Worst New Star (the duck suit worn by half a dozen actors), with nominations for Worst Director (Willard Huyck), Worst Supporting Actor (Robbins), and Worst Original Song (“Howard the Duck” by Thomas Dolby). It managed to open at #3 with $5 million and grossed a $37 million, roughly equal to its production budget. Despite (or perhaps in honor of) his notorious reputation, a version of Howard appears in the end credits of 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
Nothing in Common - August 1, 1986
Tom Hanks stars as an advertising exec on the rise who must suddenly balance work demands with the needs of his parents (Jackie Gleason and Eva Marie Saint), who have recently divorced. For Hanks, this drama was a transition from his previous comedies Splash and Bachelor Party. Gleason’s character suffers from diabetes in the film while in real life he was suffering from cancer. He passed away a year later, making this his final film role. Director Garry Marshall recently passed away last month. Nothing in Common opened at #8 with $3.2 million from 618 theaters (for the best per-theater average of this weekend’s box office) and finished with $32.3 million.
Flight of the Navigator - August 1, 1986
Child actor Joey Kramer stars in this family-friendly sci-fi adventure with a plot similar to E.T.: a 12-year-old boy named David is contacted by an alien ship (with a cockpit device voiced by Pee-Wee Herman, as “Max”) with a mission to collect various species from the galaxy. The ship needs David in order to navigate home, while David wants to get back to his family, while both are dogged by NASA (co-stars Howard Hesseman and Sarah Jessica Parker). Despite far better reviews than Howard the Duck, Flight of the Navigator opened in a third fewer theaters and landed at #9 with $3.1 million theaters, ultimately grossing a total of $18.5 million.
One Crazy Summer - August 8, 1986
John Cusack plays an artist and woos rocker Demi Moore in this comedy that culminates in a Nantucket regatta. For me, Bobcat Goldthwait steals the movie due to a scene in which he gets trapped in a Godzilla costume and accidentally stomps through a scale model resort during a fancy dinner party, making it hard to choose between this film and Better Off Dead as the funnier of Cusack’s '80s romantic comedy double header. Also new this weekend: Ted Danson in A Fine Mess (#9, $2.6 million), and the Transformers movie (#14, $1.7 million). Opening in limited release at 16 theaters.
Stand By Me - August 8, 1986
Opening in limited release at 16 theaters, Rob Reiner’s adaptation of Stephen King’s story “The Body” stars Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, River Phoenix, and Jerry O’Connell. Reviews were excellent - Reiner would later receive a Directors Guild nomination, and the screenplay by Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans received an Oscar nomination. Stand By Me also did well at the box office, earning a total of $52 million from a wider release of just under 800 theaters.
The Fly - August 15, 1986
David Cronenberg’s remake of the 1958 sci-fi thriller stars Jeff Goldblum as scientist Seth Brundle, inventor of a teleportation pod. Unfortunately a simple fly gets caught in the mix and things get hairy. Geena Davis co-stars as his love interest; they married in real life after The Fly and worked together again in Earth Girls are Easy in 1988. The Fly thrilled critics and audiences, who put it at #1 for the weekend with $7 million from 1,195 theaters. It grossed (so to speak) $40 million which led to a sequel (starring Eric Stoltz and Daphne Zuniga) in 1989. Coming in at #2 this weekend was the John Candy / Eugene Levy / Meg Ryan comedy Armed and Dangerous with $4.3 million. It earned a modest $15.9 million overall.
The last two weekends of August 1986 were led by The Fly and Stand By Me, while Top Gun was still going strong in the top 5 four months into release. New films closing out the month with box office in the $2-3 million range: the Hannibal Lecter thriller Manhunter, fantasyThe Boy Who Could Fly (limited release), horror sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Farrah Fawcett in Extremities, horror-comedy Night of the Creeps (limited release), Michael Keaton in Touch and Go (limited release), Renny Harlin’s Born American, and Madonna and Sean Penn in Shanghai Surprise (limited release).
Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!