Marquee History
Week 37 - 2015
By Max Braden
September 13, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com
This week's highlights are the 15th anniversary of Cameron Crowe’s pinnacle movie Almost Famous and the 30th anniversary of Agnes of God
Here are the movies that premiered on theater marquees this week...
10 years ago - September 16, 2005
Just Like Heaven
Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon star in this Ghost-like romantic comedy. Jon Heder costars in his first movie since the breakout hit of Napoleon Dynamite. As with most Reese Witherspoon comedies, critics and audiences couldn’t help but be pleased. Just Like Heaven opened at #1 with $20 million for the weekend at 3,508 sites and eventually went on to earn $48 million domestically. Two months into this movie’s release, Reese Witherspoon had another with Walk the Line, which earned her an Oscar.
Lord of War
Nicolas Cage normally plays a hero but in Lord of War he plays an anti-hero, portraying an arms dealer to the world in the 1990s post-Soviet era. Its treatment of the politics of the international arms trade earned respect from critics. Ethan Hawke costars, with Andrew Nicol directing. Lord of War opened with $12 million at #3 behind the previous week’s holdover The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and eventually grossed $24 million in the U.S., enough to buy a couple dozen Tomahawk missiles.
Cry_Wolf
This horror/slasher that involves an internet instant-messenger plot comes from first-timer Jeff Wadlow, who made the movie with the million dollars he won for a short film in the 2002 Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival. The cast, led by Julian Morris, includes Jon Bon Jovi. Critics were not fans of the movie but as with many inexpensive horror flicks, it made back its budget and more. Cry_Wolf opened at #5 behind The 40-Year-Old Virgin with $5.2 million on 1,789 screens, and grossed $10 million.
Venom
Venom is a slasher about an undead killer, starring Agnes Bruckner, Laura Ramsey, and Meagan Good. Reviews were bad. In limited release, Venom opened at #20 with a dismal $1,410 per screen average and couldn’t even gross a million dollars during its run. Director Jim Gillespie of I Know What You Did Last Summer fame hasn’t directed another movie since.
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride opened on five screens this week before going wide the following week, along with other new very limited releases G, The Thing About My Folks, Proof, Thumbsucker, and Everything Is Illuminated.
15 years ago - September 15, 2000
Bait
Director Antoine Fuqua’s second film has writing credits from a Seinfeld producer and Proof of Life writer Tony Gilroy. Jamie Foxx stars as a convict used as bait in a criminal investigation by a Treasury agent played by David Morse in this action flick. Foxx had his theatrical breakthrough the previous year with Any Given Sunday. Unfortunately, Bait was a critical and financial bomb. Bait opened at #2 behind last week’s holdover The Watcher with $5.4 million on 2,352 screens. Made for over $50 million, it eventually left theaters with only $15 million. But not to worry, pretty much everyone involved managed to shake it off.
Almost Famous
This is the 15th anniversary of Cameron Crowe at his peak (arguments for Say Anything... aside). A semi-autobiographical coming-of-age drama, Almost Famous tells the story of a teenage writer (Patrick Fugit) for Rolling Stone who goes on tour with a rock band in the early ‘70s. Kate Hudson has her breakthrough role as groupie Penny Lane, and the cast includes Billy Crudup, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Noah Taylor, Frances McDormand, Jason Lee, Jimmy Fallon, Jay Baruchel, Rainn Wilson, Zooey Deschanel, and Anna Paquin. Critics and audiences loved it for its characters and tone. The movie earned Oscar nominations for Hudson, McDormand, the editors (who won the American Cinema Editors award), and a win for Cameron Crowe’s screenplay. He was also nominated by the Directors Guild of America, and the movie was nominated by the Producers Guild of America (blame Chocolat for squeezing Almost Famous out of the Best Picture category at the Oscars). The compilation soundtrack won a Grammy. Almost Famous opened in limited release at #8 on 131 screens with a big $17,669 per screen average. It expanded to wide release the following week, peaking at #3 in the box office. Its $32 million domestic gross was a little more than half its production budget, but who’s counting? This is a classic modern American film.
Duets
This ensemble musical drama stars Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Andre Braugher, and Scott Speedman and Maria Bello as karaoke singers on a road trip to a big contest. Gwyneth’s father Bruce Paltrow directed the film, his last before his death in 2002. At the end of this movie’s theatrical run, Gwyneth’s next release in November was Bounce alongside her high-profile ex, Ben Affleck. Duets was not a recommendation by critics and was a financial failure, but I have a soft spot for it. Paltrow's songs Bette Davis Eyes and Cruisin’ were hits on the Australian music charts, and Braugher brings great dramatic weight. Give it a look if you haven’t seen it. Duets opened in limited release at #10 with $2 million on 581 screens and eventually grossed $4.7 million.
20 years ago - September 15, 1995
Clockers
Based on the novel by Richard Price, Spike Lee’s crime drama stars Mekhi Phifer in his first film as a drug dealer. Harvey Keitel, John Turturro, Delroy Lindo, and Regina Taylor costar. Reviews were good, and the Bruce Hornsby/Chaka Khan song “Love Me Still” was nominated for a Grammy. Clockers opened at #2 behind last week’s holdover To Wong Foo… with $4.4 million on 1,208 screens and went on to gross $13 million in the U.S.
Hackers
Out with the old generation of WarGames and Weird Science pranksters and in with the new generation of serious computer snoops! Johnny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie star as hip and competent teen hackers who uncover corporate corruption in this thriller. Hackers was preceded by Sandra Bullock’s The Net in July. Microsoft had just released Windows 95 and Internet Explorer 1.0 in August to compete with Netscape, so you can imagine the high public awareness but still nascent familiarity with the internet. Movies like this must have kept a few people from venturing into the virtual world. Critics were less interested in the actors than the subject and the pacing and visuals. Hackers opened at #4 behind holdover Dangerous Minds with $3.1 million on 1,812 screens and eventually grossed $7.5 million. Did you know the personal side of this movie? Miller and Jolie were married six months later, later divorcing in early 1999.
Angus
First-timer Charlie Talbert stars in this teen trouble comedy along with Jurassic Park teen actress Ariana Richards, and James Van Der Beek in his first film role. Kathy Bates and George C. Scott costar. The movie was notable to critics for its treatment of teen obesity, self-esteem, and bullying. Angus opened at #8 with $1.9 million on 1,154 screens and eventually grossed $4.8 million.
25 years ago - September 14, 1990
Postcards from the Edge
Carrie Fisher wrote the screenplay for the movie based on her semi-autobiographical novel. Meryl Streep stars as an actress trying to break a drug addiction despite the stress of dealing with her overbearing mother (Shirley MacLaine). Dennis Quaid, Annette Bening, Gene Hackman, and Richard Dreyfuss costar. Director Mike Nichols and Meryl Streep had previously worked together on Silkwood and Heartburn. Critical response to the film was very good. Streep was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and Shel Silverstein’s song “I’m Checkin’ Out” was also nominated. Postcards from the Edge opened at #1 with $7.8 million on 1,013 screens, more than doubling the average on Ghost’s 1,766 screens in its 10th week. Postcards eventually earned a strong $39 million domestically.
Death Warrant
This martial arts action flick was written by David S. Goyer when he was a film student and was his first screenplay sold. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as a cop undercover in prison. Patrick Kilpatrick plays the villain. Van Damme was making a name for himself among action fans, having starred in Kickboxer, Cyborg, and Bloodsport in the previous two years, and Death Warrant was his best box office performer to date (though not on the same level as genre rival Steven Seagal). Death Warrant opened at #3 with $5.0 million on 1,089 screens and eventually grossed $16.8 million.
Hardware
This moody, post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller stars Dylan McDermott and Stacey Travis as a scavenger and a sculptor who come under threat from a deadly robot. The film’s level of violence initially earned it an X-rating, which was trimmed back to an R for release. I can actually remember the seat I was in when I saw this movie in theaters, and its style at least made an impression, even if the movie isn’t one I feel like watching again. Critics were mixed about the realization of its potential. Hardware opened at #7 with $2.3 million on 695 screens, showing fairly strong audience interest. It eventually grossed $5.7 million.
Also debuting in limited release: Repossessed (Leslie Nielsen), State of Grace (Sean Penn and Ed Harris), and White Hunter Black Heart (Clint Eastwood, nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes).
30 years ago - September 13, 1985
With no new wide releases, Back to the Future once again led the box office in its 11th week with $4.1 million, followed by Teen Wolf, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Compromising Positions, and Volunteers.
Agnes of God
Opening in very limited release, this drama directed by Norman Jewison is based on the play by John Pielmeier. Meg Tilly plays a nun in a convent who claims to have given virgin birth, Jane Fonda plays a psychiatrist who investigates the claim while clashing with the mother superior, played by Anne Bancroft. The acting at least earned some praise from critics and both Bancroft and Tilly earned Oscar nominations. Georges Delerue received an Oscar nomination for his score, and Pielmeier’s screenplay was nominated by the Writers Guild of America. Agnes of God expanded to over 600 screens later in the month and eventually grossed over $25 million.
After Hours
Though director Martin Scorsese had earned a following with his films of the late 1970s and an Oscar nomination for 1980’s Raging Bull, the movie industry was clearly favoring blockbusters by the mid 1980s. Scorsese had tried but failed to produce the Last Temptation of Christ Scorsese responded by going going even more indie and lower budget with this dark comedy. The plot covers the late night adventures of a word processor (Griffin Dunne) in New York, with Rosanna Arquette, Teri Garr, John Heard, Catherine O’Hara, Linda Fiorentino, Cheech and Chong, Will Patton, and Bronson Pinchot in the cast (but not Robert De Niro). Critics responded favorably, and Scorsese won the Best Director Award at Cannes the following May. Opening in very limited release, After Hours later expanded and earned $10.6 million in the U.S.
Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!