Snapshot: May 22-25, 1992
By Joel West
March 12, 2009
Bad buzz and reviews could not keep movie-goers away from Alien 3. Likely attributed to the clever, if not misleading trailer ("the bitch is back") and title (why is 3 cubed? will there be three times the Aliens?), fans flocked to see Ripley once again lay waste to Alien scum. Unfortunately, poor word-of-mouth spread like wildfire and Alien 3 suffered a then colossal second week drop of 57% ($8 million). The lack of a credible story coupled with nothing remotely new or original to the franchise equivocally knocked the legs out from under the film ($55 million total gross). Whereas the first two reinvented the horror and sci-fi genre each time out, Alien 3 was nothing more than a lazy retread of the first two. *Tangent Alert - call me crazy, but I certainly would rather see Vincent Ward's rejected vision (again watch the documentary) of Alien 3 fail miserably than just a half-hearted regurgitation.*** At least we would have known the filmmakers were trying. That certainly was a criticism Fincher would never be accused of again, as he has since turned into one of the best filmmakers around. In fact, Fincher's resume is so impressive (Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), many feel that somewhere a better version of Alien 3 exists that will never be seen.
Not surprisingly, the opening gross was likely enough to convince the 20th Century Fox to try and make another Alien film. The result was 1997's Alien Resurrection, a skewed but ultimately unoriginal installment in the franchise (and they even had Michael Wincott!!!). The fourth entry made $25 million over the Thanksgiving holiday and then, like Alien 3, fell off the earth ($48 million total gross). Evidently, the once promising and invincible series had obviously exhausted its premise (the least said about the Alien vs. Predator films the better).
Far and Away's weekend gross was somewhat surprising given the talent involved. However, the box office performance of a movie of its caliber is largely dictated by reviews and mixed ones at best were clearly not enough to get audiences to sit through a two and a half hour movie about Irish immigrants, even with Cruise. Far and Away did have better legs than Alien 3 (finishing up with $58 million against a $60 million budget), but the overall result was considered a disappointment. Don't worry, folks. Howard, Kidman, and Cruise had no problem rebounding from Far and Away's middling performance. Kidman and Cruise even tried a third time to have a successful pairing on the big screen, but alas, 1999's Eyes Wide Shut was not that film.
While a fourth place finish and $9 million don't scream success, Shore and the Encino Man crew had to be happy given the competition they were up against. As previously stated, Wayne's World had been a box office smash throughout early spring and clearly the demographic was left wanting. Encino Man (topping out at a very respectable $40 million) was obviously the perfect vehicle for Shore, and his presence hadn't grated his fans just yet. The only other high school comedy on the horizon was Kid ‘n Play's Class Act opening two weeks later; and judging by its performance ($13 million), their House Party days at the box office were behind them. Shore was able to extend his fleeting fame for at least another year as 1993's Son-in-Law finished with a respectable $36 million (not to mention the lovely Carla Gugino's first starring role!!!). Then the 15 minutes wore off and In the Army Now ($28 million), Jury Duty ($17 million), and Bio-Dome (13 million) collectively finished Shore's big screen career.
The Verdict: Obviously the verdict was easy to see, hence the studios released their big summer films earlier in May as opposed to Memorial Day weekend. After Lethal Weapon 3, the season's blockbusters opened earlier and earlier in the month of May until 1999's The Mummy pulled in a massive $43 million the first weekend of the month. And while the action three-quel opened big, movie-goers enjoyed it enough to either spread the word or go back for seconds. Alien 3 suffered the exact opposite as the sci-fi three-quel was a one weekend wonder.
And as for Shore, never discount an underage-trend at its peak; see Pokemon, Hannah Montana, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers...
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