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35 years ago
Since five of 1981’s top 10 box office hits were released in June, I figure they merit an extension to this edition of Marquee History:

Raiders of the Lost Ark - June 12, 1981
Not only a huge box office hit, the film won four Oscars (and a Special Achievement Award for sound effects editing) plus nominations for Best Picture, Director, Cinematography, and Original Score, as well as a Writers Guild Award nomination. Its $8 million opening weekend was less than The Empire Strikes Back’s June 1980 opening weekend, but like these early 1980s hits, Raiders of the Lost Ark just kept going and going: $125 million by Labor Day, $150 million by Thanksgiving, $212 million by the end of the following spring, leading to a re-release in the summer of 1982, which brought its total up to $248 million. Also new in theaters his weekend: Clash of the Titans and History of the World, Part I, which provided teenage boys with years and years of naughty quotations; decades later, it’s still a guilty pleasure.

Superman II - June 19, 1981
Superman II was the third highest grossing film of 1981 with $108 million, which was actually less than its predecessor’s $134 million gross in 1978/1979. But what made Superman II more significant was its opening weekend of $14.1 million, which was at least $4 million more than the previous weekend record holder. This was the beginning of the opening weekend wars as a box office priority; by the 1990’s, films with long legs had become a rarity. Superman II’s record would last only a year before it was broken (barely) by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It would be tripled by the end of the decade.

The Cannonball Run - June 19, 1981
Prior to the The Fast and the Furious generation, Burt Reynolds was the king of car films due to his roles in Smokey and the Bandit, Stroker Ace, and Cannonball Run I & II. The first Bandit film grossed $126 million in 1977, but The Cannonball Run’s $72 million was enough to place it at #6 for the year. In the film, Reynolds and Dom DeLuise decide to be crafty and drive an ambulance, but it was the variety of exotic cars driven by other characters (including the iconic Lamborghini Countach, a wall poster favorite of the 1980’s) that made this the car film of its day.

For Your Eyes Only - June 24, 1981
The twelfth James Bond film and fifth starring Roger Moore takes place in Greece with a plot surrounding a nuclear weapon tracking device. Sheena Easton’s title song was nominated for a Grammy and an Oscar. The film’s $54 million gross put it at #9 for the year.

Stripes - June 26, 1981
Bill Murray was enjoying rising fame due to Saturday Night Live and his supporting role in Caddyshack as he took on this lead role in this Army comedy. This was his second collaboration with Ivan Reitman and third with Harold Ramis; the group would work together again on Ghostbusters. Stripes was the #5 box office hit of the year with $85 million. Also new in theaters this weekend: The Great Muppet Caper, which is my favorite of the series, due largely to Charles Grodin’s performance.

Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!

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