New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

15 years ago - December 22, 2000

Cast Away
Tom Hanks stars in this drama as a FedEx employee who survives a plane crash but is stranded on a remote island in the Pacific. Much of the movie takes place without musical cues and with Hanks talking only to himself or his pal Wilson, the volleyball. Hanks went through a dramatic physical change, losing significant weight for the role. Helen Hunt co-stars as his girlfriend. Reviews were excellent, and Hanks later received his fifth and most recent Oscar nomination for the role. The film was also nominated for Best Sound. Cast Away opened with $28.8 million for the three-day weekend (the second largest December opening to that date, after What Women Want took the record the same month) and $39 million including Christmas Day on Monday. It eventually earned $233 million, the second highest grossing movie of 2000 and the third best of Hanks’s career to that time.

The Family Man
This modern take on A Christmas Carol (or It’s a Wonderful Life) stars Nicolas Cage as a wealthy Wall Street shark who finds himself in an alternate life path where he’s married the girl the previously got away, played by Tea Leoni. Stuck in middle class New Jersey, he still tries to get back into the action in New York, once again forcing him to choose what is more important in life. Reviews were good and the film was fairly successful at the box office. The Family Man opened at #4 behind holdover What Women Want with $10.5 million for the four-day weekend from 2,388 theaters and went on to earn $75 million.

Miss Congeniality
Sandra Bullock stars in this comedy as an all-business FBI agent who goes undercover at a beauty pageant. Michael Caine, William Shatner, and Candice Bergen co-star. Reviews were mixed but the film was a hit with audiences, making it Bullock’s biggest hit (other than A Time to Kill) since Speed. Miss Congeniality opened at #5 with $10 million from 2,668 theaters over the four-day weekend, experienced a surge in box office that pushed it up to #3 after Christmas, and stayed in the top ten through January. Eventually it made $106 million. Bullock returned for the sequel in March 2005.

Dracula 2000
Christopher Plummer plays a modern day descendant of the Van Helsing character from Bram Stoker’s novel, who has been storing the body of Count Dracula (Gerard Butler). Characters played by Omar Epps and Jennifer Esposito lead to the awakening of Dracula, and horror ensues. Reviews were poor. Dracula 2000 opened at #7 with $8.6 million from 2,204 theaters and eventually earned $33 million. Two direct-to-video sequels followed in 2003 and 2005.

Finding Forrester
This drama stars Rob Brown as an African-American teen who befriends a reclusive renowned writer, played by Sean Connery. F. Murray Abraham plays the antagonist who accuses Brown’s character of plagiarism in school. Reviews were good. Finding Forrester opened in 18 theaters this weekend and expanded to wide release on January 12th, eventually earning $51.8 million.

State and Main
This David Mamet comedy is about the filming of a movie called The Old Mill in a small Vermont town. Alec Baldwin and Sarah Jessica Parker play spoiled actors, William H. Macy plays the director, and Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the screenwriter. This film provided two of my favorite lines of the year: “So, that happened,” after Baldwin emerges from a wild car crash, and “Everybody needs a hobby,” in reference to his vices. Julia Stiles is also featured in one of her three movies that year. State and Main opened in 72 theaters this weekend, expanded to over 400 in January, and eventually earned $6.9 million.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?
This adventure from the Coen brothers and inspired by Homer’s Odyssey stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson as chain gang convicts in the South during the Great Depression. The trio escapes and runs into the Klu Klux Klan, con men and gangsters, and becomes a musical hit known as the Soggy Bottom Boys as Clooney’s character tries to reconcile with his wife, played by Holly Hunter. An important element in the movie was the bluegrass and folk music featured throughout. The soundtrack won a Grammy award Album of the Year and spawned the Down from the Mountain concert tour featuring the artists who contributed to the movie. The film received great reviews and received Oscar nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography. Clooney won a Golden Globe for his role. O Brother, Where Art Thou? opened in five theaters this weekend (with a $39,020 average) and expanded to over 800 by February, eventually earning $45 million overall.

In very limited release Malena and Before Night Falls opened this weekend. Malena, starring Monica Bellucci, went on to earn $3.4 million and Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Original Score. Before Night Falls earned Javier Bardem his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor, and eventually earned $4.2 million.

Thirteen Days
Kevin Costner stars as Kenneth O’Donnell, special assistant to President John F. Kennedy (played by Bruce Greenwood) in this drama surrounding the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Reviews were good, but audiences just didn’t show much interest for this $80 million project. Thirteen Days opened in eight theaters this weekend and expanded to wide release on January 12th, eventually earning a total of $35.5 million.

The Gift
Co-written by Billy Bob Thornton and directed by Sam Raimi, this supernatural thriller features Cate Blanchett as a fortune teller who has a vision about a murder. J.K. Simmons, Giovanni Ribisi, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, and Hilary Swank co-star. Reviews were decent. The Gift opened in three theaters this weekend and expanded to 800 in January, eventually grossing $12 million.

Continued:       1       2       3       4       5