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20 years ago - October 13, 1995

Jade
In one of the boldest moves in 1990s acting history, David Caruso jumped ship from his Golden Globe-winning role in NYPD Blue after only four episodes into its second season. His move to star in movies did not exactly pay off. It’s not that he isn’t good in movies - his performance is still my favorite part in Mad Dog & Glory (1993) and I like him in Proof of Life (2000) but the viewership he had on TV did not carry over to theaters. His first leading role was in Kiss of Death, released in April of 1995, which opened at #3 and made less than $15 million. The ability of Jade to open and win the weekend could be attributed to being the next erotic thriller from overpaid writer Joe Eszterhas (with Linda Fiorentino starring in this one) as anything else. Caruso received Golden Raspberry nominations this year for both Kiss of Death and Jade, and Eszterhas’s screenplay for this movie lost the Golden Raspberry award to his other screenplay Razzie nomination, for Showgirls (which was #16 in theaters this weekend). Jade opened at #5 with $4.2 million on 2,164 screens and by week 3 had dropped out of the top ten. It only earned $9.8 million in the U.S. - a huge flop compared to its $50 million budget.

The Scarlett Letter
Despite having been adapted many times in the first few decades of filmmaking, this was the first Hollywood treatment of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel in 60 years. Demi Moore plays Hester Prynne as the woman ostracized for her affair with a Puritan reverend, played by Gary Oldman. Robert Duvall plays her husband. Director Roland Joffe had two Oscar nominations from the 1980s. Moore had a big financial success in 1994 with the erotic thriller Disclosure, and this version of The Scarlet Letter played up the physical aspect more than Hawthorne’s concern with morality. The package backfired, with poor reviews and later Razzie nominations for Worst Actress, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Picture. The movie also bombed financially, opening at #6 with $4.1 million on 1,510 screens and eventually grossing only $10.3 million compared to its $46 million budget.

Releasing in limited release this weekend: Blue in the Face (earning an American Comedy Award for Lily Tomlin).


25 years ago - October 12, 1990

Memphis Belle
Based on the 1943 documentary about a WWII B-17 bomber that survived 25 missions without a loss of crew, Memphis Belle stars Matthew Modine, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, Eric Stoltz, Sean Astin, and Harry Connick, Jr. (his film debut). Critics were so-so about the movie, noting the Hollywood treatment of the war story. Memphis Belle opened at #2 behind last week’s Marked For Death, with $5 million on 1,087 screens (significantly outscoring Marked For Death’s per-site average). It went on to earn $27 million in the U.S.

Mr. Destiny
Similar to It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Destiny is a fantasy film about a 30-something guy who regrets his life and is granted an alternate reality do-over by a guardian angel. Jim Belushi stars along with Michael Caine, Rene Russo, Jon Lovitz, Linda Hamilton, and Courteney Cox. Belushi had starred in the comedy Taking Care of Business two months prior, bringing in $20 million for that film. Reviews for this film were not good. Mr. Destiny opened at #7 with $2.9 million on 727 screens. It expanded to over 1,000 screens at the end of October and went on to earn $15.3 million.

Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
Winona Ryder stars as a 15-year-old girl named Dinky who may be the daughter of a formerly local celebrity who is returning to town to much fanfare. Jeff Daniels plays Roxy’s husband. Ryder of course had broken out in Hollywood in 1988 with Beetlejuice and Heathers. Director Jim Abrahams came from the spoof comedy trio Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, responsible for Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Critics praised Ryder’s performance but were not keen on the story. Roxy Carmichael opened at #9 with $1.7 million on 635 screens. It went on to gross $3.9 million. Two months later Ryder would costar with Cher in Mermaids.

Releasing in limited release this weekend: Bloodfist 2 (Don Wilson), The Hot Spot (Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly), and To Sleep With Anger (Danny Glover - winner of Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit Awards).

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