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25 YEARS AGO

January 3, 1992
No new openers this weekend; December’s Hook held #1 with $11.4 million, followed by Father of the Bride with $9 million, and Beauty and the Beast at $8.8 million.

January 10, 1992
Audiences must have been in the mood for a bad babysitter in 1992, because The Hand That Rocks the Cradle became an instant and long-legged hit.  The thriller stars Rebecca De Mornay as a widow who seeks revenge on Annabella Sciorra’s character by secretly undermining her family from within as a nanny - even going so far as to breastfeed a newborn that isn’t hers.  The film scored an impressive per-theater-average by taking in $7.6 million from just 766 theaters.  Since 1992, only one other film has opened at #1 in fewer theaters (the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert in 2008).  The Hand that Rocks the Cradle expanded to another 900 theaters the following weekend and was #1 for its first four consecutive weekends.  It ultimately grossed a total of $88 million, the 12th best box office performance of the year.  Also opening this weekend: Christian Slater’s cop comedy Kuffs earned $5.6 million from 1,411 theaters.

January 17, 1992
While The Hand that Rocks the Cradle held on to #1 with $11.8 million over this Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, Juice scored a better per-theater-average at #2 with $8 million from 1,089 theaters.  The crime drama stars Omar Epps and Tupac Shakur and received solid reviews from critics.  At #4 behind Hook was Freejack, a futuristic thriller starring Emilio Estevez facing off against a villain played by...Mick Jagger. Jagger had appeared in so few roles (leads in 1970 and 1987) that audiences may have thought this was stunt casting, but he took it seriously and at least he didn’t earn a Razzie Award nomination for his performance.  Still, Freejack brought in a modest $6.7 million and didn’t earn much repeat business.

January 24, 1992
Sean Young’s sensual thriller Love Crimes debuted at 669 theaters (compared to the 1,700+ for the widest playing titles) and took in $1.1 million for the #12 spot.  Young later received a Razzie nomination for her performance.  Meanwhile, audiences instead chose to keep The Hand that Rocks the Cradle at #1 with $8 million, followed by Fried Green Tomatoes with $5.2 million (from just 669 theaters), and Father of the Bride with $3.7 million.

January 31, 1992
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle held the top spot at the box office for the fourth consecutive weekend with $8.1 million. Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith shared embraces and intrigue in the WWII drama Shining Through opened at #3 with $6.4 million

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