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25 years ago - May 1991

May 3rd new releases:
One Good Cop / A Rage in Harlem
One Good Cop is a drama starring Michael Keaton as an honest NYPD detective who steals from a criminal in a desperate move to help his family. The movie opened at #2 behind holdover Oscar with $3.3 million and only made $11.2 million, no doubt because audiences weren't used to this kind of role for Keaton. He would star as Batman again the following summer.


May 10th new releases:
F/X 2 / Switch / Madonna: Truth or Dare
F/X 2 is the sequel to the 1986 action thriller which brings back Bryan Brown as a special-effects artist and Brian Dennehy as a cop investigating a murder and stolen gold medallions. Reviews were poor but F/X 2 managed to open at #1 with $5.4 million, going on to a total of $21 million. Ellen Barkin's body-swapping comedy Switch opened at #2 with $3.7 million and made $15.5 million despite weak reviews. Madonna: Truth Or Dare opened at 51 theaters this weekend and expanded to 650 theaters through May, eventually earning $15 million.

May 17th new releases:
What About Bob? / Stone Cold / Mannequin Two: On the Move
The comedy What About Bob? stars Bill Murray as an erratic patient of stuffy psychiatrist Richard Dreyfuss, and things get crazy when Murray's character Bob insists on being part of his doctor's family vacation. Reviews were very good, leading to What About Bob? commanding the #1 box office spot with $9.2 million from 1,463 theaters. It took in a total of $63.7 million. Down at #5 was a less impressive entry, unless you like kick-ass biker movies. Stone Cold stars former NFL player Brian Bosworth in his first role as an undercover cop who takes down an outlaw motorcycle gang led by Lance Henriksen. Opening with $2.8 million, Stone Cold made just over a third of its budget back and earned Bosworth a Razzie Award nomination. (I didn't care; I remember enjoying the action on opening weekend even if Bosworth was no replacement for Schwarzenegger as an action star.) Mannequin Two: On the Move was of course the sequel to the odd 1987 hit about about a store mannequin that comes to life. Kim Cattrall and Andrew McCarthy are replaced by Kristy Swanson and William Ragsdale, with only Meschach Taylor returning, in a ridiculous medieval sorcerer plot. Mannequin Two bombed with critics and at the box office, opening at #8 with $1.6 million and earning less than a tenth of the first movie's total gross.


May 24th new releases:
Backdraft / Hudson Hawk / Thelma and Louise / Only the Lonely / Drop Dead Fred / Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken
This was a busy weekend for new movies, with six of the top seven box office spots held by debuts. Ron Howard's firefighter drama Backdraft took the #1 spot with $15.7 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, making it the best opening of Howard's career up to that point. Backdraft eventually made $77 million and was later nominated for Best Sound Effects, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound at the Academy Awards. Hudson Hawk came in at #3 with $7 million and has been maligned as one of the worst critical and financial flops of Bruce Willis's career (though it has its fun moments). Thelma and Louise opened at #4 with $6 million. Ridley Scott's road movie starring Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis was very well received by critics and audiences, going on to gross $45 million on a $16 million budget, and earning Oscar nominations for Best Actress (Davis and Sarandon), Best Director, Cinematography, Editing, and Original Screenplay (winning that category for Callie Khouri). While having an important impact on feminist (or anti-misogyny) discussion, the film was also an early eye candy role for Brad Pitt. John Candy and Ally Sheedy starred in the Chris Columbus comedy Only the Lonely at #5 with $5.9 million, Phoebe Cates starred in the comedy Drop Dead Fred at #6 with $3.6 million, and the Disney drama Wild Hearts Can't be Broken opened at #7 with $2.7 million over the four-day weekend.

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