Snapshot: January 17-20, 1997
By Joel West
February 20, 2009
The box office performance of a film these days is almost as important as the film's quality itself. As unfortunate as that may be, the facts are the facts. So while your movie may be as good as It's a Wonderful Life, Citizen Kane, or even The Shawshank Redemption (all box office disappointments in their own right), if the marketing, release date, and apparent quality don't resonate with audiences, its commercial success could suffer. As with everything in history, time produces clarity. This column will take a look back at a specific time at the movies and try and determine the factors that led to a movie's success or failure.
Oh how the movie-going public loves a comeback story.
From John Travolta to Robert Downey Jr., one specific film has allowed us to fully embrace a movie star's return to commercial and critical prowess. However, it's their next film that truly illustrates whether it was a one-time fluke or an extended invitation to the A-list. Mr. Travolta wisely followed Pulp Fiction ($107 million) with Get Shorty ($72 million), while Mr. Downey Jr. followed Iron Man ($318 million) with Tropic Thunder ($110 million). These subsequent films solidified their comebacks and allowed their respective agents to receive scripts that weren't being sent to them during their Shout and in Dreams phases. Travolta was able to continue his streak up until 2000's Battlefield Earth ($21 million), but since rebounded in 2006's Wild Hogs ($168 million) and Hairspray ($118 million). With Downey, it is still too soon to tell, but with the Iron Man franchise and Sherlock Holmes in the future, his prognosis his good.
Unfortunately, Eddie Murphy's agent wasn't as wise (or as fortunate) with the opportunities that Murphy's comeback film, The Nutty Professor, allowed.
The 1980s at the Cineplex were to an extent defined by Murphy. 48 Hours ($78 million), Trading Places ($90 million), Beverly Hills Cop ($234 million), The Golden Child ($79 million), Eddie Murphy Raw ($50 million for a standup routine!!!), Beverly Hills Cop II ($153 million), and Coming to America ($128 million) all made Murphy one of the biggest stars on the planet. Better yet, he was doing all this for the most part without the comfort of a family-friendly rating. You could argue that a few of those films were borderline lazy (I am looking at you Beverly Hills Cop II), relying only on Murphy doing his shtick and little else. Nonetheless, moviegoers loved them some Murphy and he knew it, as there was very little in the way of artistic stretching involved in his work. As would later prove in Murphy's resume, when something works, don't change a thing.
But when the '90s rolled around, something broke - Eddie Murphy's dominance at the box office. It didn't happen with just one film like it would eventually do to Kevin Costner (1993's A Perfect World). No, Murphy's pull was slowly deteriorating. 1990's Another 48 Hours was the long awaited sequel to Murphy's launch pad film. All the significant parts from the original were there: same cast, same director, and disappointedly the same box office gross. Certainly $80 million was nothing to frown about, but with Murphy's dominance in "R-rated action", at least a $100 million was expected. His subsequent films continued the downward spiral: Boomerang ($70 million), The Distinguished Gentleman ($46 million), Beverly Hills Cop III ($42 million), and Vampire in Brooklyn ($19 million). Anyone who witnessed any of the aforementioned bores knew that problem wasn't Murphy's charm; it was that he didn't seem to even try or care. The once vibrant and controversial talent (have you seen Raw lately?) had been muted by lame "high concepts." Look, Murphy goes to Congress; here is Murphy as a vampire; or screw it, Murphy is now a Beverly Hills Cop at an amusement park. There was nothing underneath the surface and audiences knew that; and after his failed foray into horror, Murphy knew a change would have to be made.
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