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15 years ago

Rush Hour 2 - August 3, 2001
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker scored a big hit with their buddy cop comedy in 1998, breaking the September opening weekend record. This sequel was even bigger, smashing The Sixth Sense’s August opening record ($26.6 million in 1999) with $67.4 million. That record stood until The Bourne Ultimatum opened in 2007 (vs. Rush Hour 3 in the same month with $49.1 million) and was most recently set by Suicide Squad’s $133 million. Rush Hour 2 grossed $226 million, a top 5 result for the year. Another important hit this weekend was The Princess Diaries (#3, $22.8 million) which effectively launched Anne Hathaway’s stardom. Also new in theaters: the Antonio Banderas / Angelina Jolie erotic thriller Original Sin (#6, $6.4 million).

American Pie 2 - August 10, 2001
Like Rush Hour, this sequel built on a breakout original hit. Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Seann William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Alyson Hannigan return for some college partying. American Pie 2’s opening more than doubled its predecessor’s, taking the #1 spot with $45 million from 3,063 theaters. It went on to gross $145 million and was followed by less successful sequels in 2003 and 2012. Also new this weekend: Nicole Kidman in the Alejandro Amenabar ghost story The Others (#4, $14 million), Bill Murray in the Farrelly Brothers animated comedy Osmosis Jones (#7, $5.2 million), and one of the year’s most disturbing psychological horror films, Session 9 (limited release).

Rat Race - August 17, 2001
Rat Race was an ensemble road trip comedy from director Jerry Zucker, with Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, John Cleese, Cuba Gooding Jr., Seth Green and other comedians. Opening against the two stronger comedies American Pie 2 ($21.1 million) and Rush Hour 2 ($19.0 million), Rat Race took #3 with $11.6 million from 2,550 theaters. It managed to keep going and earned $56 million overall. Nicolas Cage and Penelope Cruz’s WWII romance Captain Corelli’s Mandolin opened at #6 with $7.2 million, and the Colin Farrell / Scott Caan / Ali Larter crime thriller American Outlaws opened at #8 with $4.8 million.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - August 24, 2001
Formerly side characters in Kevin Smith’s comedies, he and Jason Mewes get their own feature in a plot about a comic book based on their characters. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran, Jason Lee, Shannen Doherty and a large ensemble serve as supporting characters. American Pie 2 and Rush Hour 2 were still #1 and #2, putting Jay and Silent Bob at #3 with $11 million from 2,745 theaters. Its $30 million gross put it at the higher end of Smith’s View Askew films. Also new this weekend: Summer Catch (#6, $7.0 million), John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (#9, $3.8 million), The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (#11, $2.4 million), and Bubble Boy (#13, $2.0 million).

Jeepers Creepers- August 31, 2001
Justin Long stars in this teen horror film about a local killer in a beat up truck who takes the eyes (“those peepers”) from his victims. Jeepers Creepers opened at #1 with $15.8 million from 3,124 theaters over the four-day Labor Day weekend. That took the record previously held by The Crow: City of Angels in 1996. The 2003 Jeepers Creepers 2 (without Long) again set the Labor Day weekend record with an $18.3 million opening. Both films earned in the mid-30s overall. The one other new film this weekend was the high school adaption of Shakespeare’s O (#7, $5.5 million), starring Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, and Josh Hartnett.


20 years ago

Emma - August 2, 1996
With A Time to Kill and Independence Day holding the top two box office spots, the family-friendly Matilda ($8.2 million), directed by Danny Devito, and Keanu Reeves / Morgan Freeman sci-fi action flick Chain Reaction ($7.5 million) opened at #3 and #4. But the film with more significant legacy was Emma, starring Gwyneth Paltrow in the title role of Jane Austen’s English romance. The film won an Oscar for Rachel Portman’s original score and was nominated for costume design, but also received good reviews from critics and audiences who were in the midst of an Austen revival with adaptations of Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice in 1995. Emma opened in limited release and only reached 725 theaters, but managed to gross $22.2 million and helped boost Paltrow’s lead actress career.

Jack - August 9, 2006
Robin Williams stars in this Francis Ford Coppola comedy drama as a young boy who is prematurely aging into the body of a man, making him a fish out of water for either group of peers. Reviews were poor but weak competition allowed Jack to take the #1 spot with $11.1 million from 1,710 theaters. A Time to Kill held the #2 spot in its third weekend, and Kurt Russell’s disappointing Snake Plissken sequel Escape From L.A. opened at #3 with $8.9 million.

Tin Cup - August 16, 1996
Forty-year-old Kevin Costner stars as a golfer with a self-discipline problem, who enters the U.S. Open to take down his rival (Don Johnson) and win the girl (Rene Russo). It’s like Top Gun, but with slower edits. Tin Cup may not have earned the accolades of Dances With Wolves, but it remains a fan favorite. The film opened at #1 with $10.1 million from 2,012 theaters and had the legs to gross $53.8 million. Also new this weekend: De Niro and Snipes in the obsessive thriller The Fan (#4, $6.2 million), family wilderness drama Alaska (#8, $2.9 million), the Tales from the Crypt horror movie Bordello of Blood (#9, $2.6 million), and family comedy House Arrest (#12, $2.2 million).



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The Island of Dr. Moreau - August 23, 1996
I’m a big fan of Val Kilmer’s, but even I have to admit this is probably the point where he started going off the rails. Though David Thewlis really stars in this adaptation of the H.G. Well’s novel, it’s Marlon Brando, who plays the mad scientist, and Kilmer’s bizarre mimicry of him that are more memorable. Audiences no doubt wanted to see for themselves why the reviews were so bad. The Island of Dr. Moreau opened at #1 with $9.1 million from 2,035 theaters and eventually earned $27.6 million. Also new this weekend: A Very Brady Sequel (#3, $7 million), Mario Van Peebles in the actioner Solo (#9, $2.2 million), romantic comedy She’s the One (#11, $2.0 million), and family comedy Carpool (#13, $1.6 million).

The Crow: City of Angels - August 23, 1996
Due to the death of Brandon Lee in filming the first Crow film, Vincent Perez stepped in to play the supernatural anti-hero. Despite poor reviews, the sequel debuted at #1 with $9.7 million from 2,423 theaters - a record for a Labor Day weekend opening, which was later broken by Jeepers Creepers five years later. The Crow: City of Angels went on to gross $17.9 million, less than half the gross of its predecessor. Also new this weekend: the Sinbad comedy First Kid (#3, $8.4 million), Kyle MacLachlan and Elisabeth Shue in The Trigger Effect (#12, $1.8 million), and Tom Arnold in the comedy The Stupids (#15, $1.5 million).

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