Marquee History
Week 39 - 2015
By Max Braden
September 25, 2015
20 years ago - September 29, 1995
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
This sequel is the sixth movie in the slasher series that began in 1978. Paul Rudd stars as Tommy Doyle, who first appeared as an eight-year-old character in the 1978 movie, and also appeared in Halloween 2 and 4. The was Rudd’s debut film year, in which he first appeared in Clueless during the summer. Donald Pleasence returns again to play Dr. Loomis in his final major film (Pleasance died in February before the film was released). The plot centers on a “Cult of Thorn” paranormal element. Reviews were poor and audiences chose to the more modern horror of holdover Se7en for the top spot. The Curse of Michael Myers opened at #2 with $7.3 million on 1,679 screens. This was better than the openings of the three 1980s sequels, but in the end the movie only grossed $15 million. The next sequel, Halloween: H20, came three years later.
Devil in a Blue Dress
Denzel Washington plays 1940s private eye Easy Rawlins from Walter Mosley’s first award-winning 1990 crime novel. This was Washington’s third movie of the year, following Crimson Tide and Virtuosity. Tom Sizemore, Don Cheadle and Jennifer Beals costar. The story adds a racial and sociological element to the noire genre, and Cheadle and Beals were both nominated at the Image Awards. Reviews were good and Devil in a Blue Dress opened at #3 with $5.4 million on 1,432 screens. It went on to earn $16 million.
The Big Green
This family-friendly underdog soccer comedy from Disney stars Olivia d’Abo, Steve Guttenberg, and Patrick Renna. Renna was known from 1993’s baseball comedy drama The Sandlot. The movie bombed among critics but managed to come in at #4 with $4.6 million on 2,072 screens. Ultimately it earned $17 million.
Steal Big, Steal Little
Andy Garcia plays twins in this comedy set in Santa Barbara, with Alan Arkin, Rachel Ticotin, Joe Pantoliano, and Holland Taylor. Reviews were poor and box office was worse. Steal Big, Steal Little opened at #8 with $1.7 million on 1,080 screens and finished with less than a tenth of its $35 million budget.
Moonlight and Valentino
Based on the play by Ellen Simon, this drama about life after loss stars Elizabeth Perkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kathleen Turner, and Whoopi Goldberg. Jon Bon Jovi plays a romantic interest. Critics took note of the overbearing feministic tone and audience response wasn’t very strong. Moonlight and Valentino opened in limited release at #12 with $1.2 million on 669 screens, earning a total of $2.4 million during its run.
Opening in very limited release: To Die For (Nicole Kidman) which I’ll cover next week, when it expanded into moderate release.
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