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Good Night, and Good Luck
Probably the most talked about movie of the weekend was this black & white depiction of journalist Edward R. Murrow, releasing on only 11 screens. This was the second movie directed by George Clooney, who co-wrote the script with Grant Heslov and even self-financed the production. David Strathairn plays Murrow, with Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., and Patricia Clarkson costarring. Reviews were stellar, and the film later earned Oscar nominations for Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, and Actor (Strathairn). It’s interesting to look back at reviews from the time and see little or no mention of how the movie’s political critique fit into the current environment of increasing criticism of U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq. Good Night, and Good Luck expanded through October and November to a peak of just over 800 screens (with a later 929 screen release in February for its Oscar buzz), and earned a total of $31 million in the U.S before it left theaters in March 2006.

Also opening in limited release this weekend: Where the Truth Lies (Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth, Alison Lohman), and The Squid and the Whale (Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg, Anna Paquin. Noah Baumbach’s screenplay later received an Oscar nomination.)


15 years ago - October 6, 2000

Meet the Parents
This wildly successful comedy stars Ben Stiller as a future son-in-law to the stern father played by Robert De Niro. Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, and Owen Wilson costar. Director Jay Roach was coming off the first two Austin Powers movies, Stiller had had a big hit with 1998’s There’s Something About Mary, and De Niro had starred in his first comedy in 1999 with Analyze This. All that pedigree and good reviews led Meet the Parents to score the biggest October opening weekend to date, breaking the record held by Antz. Meet the Parents opened at #1, taking down Remember the Titans (still showing a strong $7,112 per site average), with $28.6 million on 2,614 screens. When it finally left theaters the following March, Meet the Parents had grossed $166 million. The sequel, Meet the Fockers, was even more successful in 2004.

Get Carter
Between 1996 and 2006, Sylvester Stallone’s career was in a slump. One praised role - 1997’s Cop Land - sat among a series of box office disappointments, and Get Carter was the low point. Stallone stars as mob enforcer Jack Carter in the remake of Michael Caine’s 1971 thriller. Mickey Rourke, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Miranda Richardson costar. Reviews were poor, and Stallone ended up receiving a Worst Actor nomination at the Golden Raspberry Awards. Get Carter opened at #3 with $6.6 million, Stallone’s worst opening since Oscar in 1991. Grossing less than $15 million, it turned out to be Stallone’s weakest performer in almost 20 years.

Digimon: The Movie
Following the success of two Pokemon films released in 1998 and 1999, this kid-friendly movie (about Digital Monsters) was edited from previously released Japanese movies to create one movie for American audiences. Reviews were poor but the movie helped continue the brand, which has continued to expand up through 2015. Digimon: The Movie opened at #4 with $4.2 million on 1,823 screens and a weak per-site average. It eventually grossed $9.6 million in the U.S.

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