Marquee History
Week 41 - 2015
By Max Braden
October 10, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com
This week's highlight is the 30th anniversary of one of my favorite 1980s action comedies, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
Here are the movies that premiered on theater marquees this week...
10 years ago - October 14, 2005
The Fog
John Carpenter’s followup to 1978’s Halloween was The Fog, released in 1980. The Fog again starred Jamie Lee Curtis and earned a healthy $21 million during its run. Twenty-five years later, Carpenter remade the movie, this time serving as producer while Rupert Wainwright served as director. Tom Welling (Smallville), Maggie Grace (Lost), and Selma Blair starred. Carpenter’s previous movie Ghosts of Mars did not fare well, and The Fog was met with poor reviews. But thanks to a weak box office weekend, The Fog unseated Wallace and Gromit for the #1 spot with $11.7 million on 2,972 screens. It went on to earn $29 million.
Elizabethtown
As I mentioned in Marquee History a few weeks ago, Cameron Crowe arguably hit his peak with Almost Famous in 2000, even though the movie wasn’t a financial success. A year later he directed Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky, which grossed $100 million in the U.S. For his latest romantic comedy he had Orlando Bloom, who was at least part of two recent big franchises: The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean. Unfortunately neither he nor Kirsten Dunst moved critics or audiences. Elizabethtown opened at #3 with $10.6 million on 2,516 screens. It went on to earn $26 million, falling short of its budget and the $32 million gross of Almost Famous.
Domino
Like Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley too was well in the public eye, having broken out in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean and Love, Actually. In the summer of 2005 she had yet another lovely role in Pride & Prejudice. Domino puts her in more of a gritty role, chopping her hair and casting her alongside Mickey Rourke in this action drama based on the life real bounty hunter Domino Hardy (who died of an overdose only a few months before the movie was released). Director Tony Scott had a big hit in 2004 with Man on Fire, but didn’t do so well this year. Facing negative reviews, Domino opened at #7 with $4.6 million on 2,223 screens and grossed $10 million overall - the weakest performance of Scott’s directing career since the early 1980s.
Also opening in limited release this weekend: Nine Lives (Robin Wright, Jason Issacs, Sissy Spacek, Aidan Quinn, Glenn Close, Dakota Fanning), and Loggerheads (Bonnie Hunt, Chris Sarandon, Kip Pardue).
15 years ago - October 13, 2000
Lost Souls
Winona Ryder and Ben Chaplin star in this demonic possession movie directed by Academy Award winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan). As you can expect, the visual style of the movie was praised while the content was not. Lost Souls opened at #3 behind Remember the Titans with $7.9 million on 1,970 screens. It went on to gross $16.8 million, far below its budget and the numbers for her tragic romance Autumn in New York, released two months earlier. Kaminski thankfully went back to shooting movies for Steven Spielberg (including this month’s Bridge of Spies).
The Ladies Man
Saturday Night Live star Tim Meadows developed the character of Leon Phleps - a supremely self-confident radio sex therapist - during the late 1990s before he left the show in early 2000. The Blues Brothers had been the first and only SNL characters to have their own movie until the 1990s, which saw eight character movies before this one. As with many of the 1990s SNL movies, this one was not well received by critics. The Ladies Man opened at #4 with $5.4 million on 2,022 screens. It went on to gross $13.6 million.
The Contender
Joan Allen stars as a nominee for Vice President who comes under fierce scrutiny over her private life in this political drama from writer/director Rod Lurie (his first wide theatrical release). Jeff Bridges plays the president and Gary Oldman plays the congressional antagonist. Reviews were good, with critics noting the highly partisan nature of the movie with the real life Bush/Gore presidential election only a few weeks away. The Contender opened at #5 with $5.3 million on 1,516 screens. It went on to gross $17.8 million. Both Jeff Bridges and Joan Allen would later receive Oscar nominations for their performances, with Oldman also getting a SAG nomination.
Dr. T and the Women
Richard Gere stars in an ensemble romantic comedy drama as a gynecologist for rich Texas women. Farrah Fawcett plays his wife, Kate Hudson his daughter, and Helen Hunt, Laura Dern, Shelley Long, Liv Tyler, and Tara Reid costar. Just like Winona Ryder this week, Gere fared a lot better with their romance in Autumn in New York a couple months earlier. Reviews were mixed at best, and audiences weren’t buying in. Dr. T and the Women opened at #7 with $5.0 million on 1,489 screens. It went on to earn $13.1 million, Gere’s weakest performing movie since 1993’s Mr. Jones..
Billy Elliot
Jamie Bell stars as an 11-year-old boy who takes up ballet in a coal mining town in Northern England during the 1980s, where he faces issues of gender bias. This was the first film from director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter Lee Hall, who both came from acclaimed works in the theatre. Reviews of the movie were excellent. First displayed at Cannes, and in theaters in the UK at the end of September, Billy Elliot opened in 10 theaters in the U.S. this weekend and later peaked at just over 500 theaters. But with the high praise and audience interest it showed great legs (zing), bringing in a total of $22 million in the U.S. and $109 million worldwide, a huge success for a movie made for less than $5 million. Daldry and Hall were nominated for Oscars and won Best British Film at the BAFTAs. Julie Waters (who plays Billy’s dance teacher) also received an Oscar nomination and won a BAFTA along with Jamie Bell. Waters went on to play Mrs. Weasley in the Harry Potter films and Bell has transitioned successfully into adult roles on television and in the movies. In 2005 the movie was adapted into a musical with music by Elton John. The musical won four Laurence Olivier Awards and ten Tony Awards and is still running in London today.
20 years ago - October 13, 1995
Jade
In one of the boldest moves in 1990s acting history, David Caruso jumped ship from his Golden Globe-winning role in NYPD Blue after only four episodes into its second season. His move to star in movies did not exactly pay off. It’s not that he isn’t good in movies - his performance is still my favorite part in Mad Dog & Glory (1993) and I like him in Proof of Life (2000) but the viewership he had on TV did not carry over to theaters. His first leading role was in Kiss of Death, released in April of 1995, which opened at #3 and made less than $15 million. The ability of Jade to open and win the weekend could be attributed to being the next erotic thriller from overpaid writer Joe Eszterhas (with Linda Fiorentino starring in this one) as anything else. Caruso received Golden Raspberry nominations this year for both Kiss of Death and Jade, and Eszterhas’s screenplay for this movie lost the Golden Raspberry award to his other screenplay Razzie nomination, for Showgirls (which was #16 in theaters this weekend). Jade opened at #5 with $4.2 million on 2,164 screens and by week 3 had dropped out of the top ten. It only earned $9.8 million in the U.S. - a huge flop compared to its $50 million budget.
The Scarlett Letter
Despite having been adapted many times in the first few decades of filmmaking, this was the first Hollywood treatment of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel in 60 years. Demi Moore plays Hester Prynne as the woman ostracized for her affair with a Puritan reverend, played by Gary Oldman. Robert Duvall plays her husband. Director Roland Joffe had two Oscar nominations from the 1980s. Moore had a big financial success in 1994 with the erotic thriller Disclosure, and this version of The Scarlet Letter played up the physical aspect more than Hawthorne’s concern with morality. The package backfired, with poor reviews and later Razzie nominations for Worst Actress, Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Picture. The movie also bombed financially, opening at #6 with $4.1 million on 1,510 screens and eventually grossing only $10.3 million compared to its $46 million budget.
Releasing in limited release this weekend: Blue in the Face (earning an American Comedy Award for Lily Tomlin).
25 years ago - October 12, 1990
Memphis Belle
Based on the 1943 documentary about a WWII B-17 bomber that survived 25 missions without a loss of crew, Memphis Belle stars Matthew Modine, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, Eric Stoltz, Sean Astin, and Harry Connick, Jr. (his film debut). Critics were so-so about the movie, noting the Hollywood treatment of the war story. Memphis Belle opened at #2 behind last week’s Marked For Death, with $5 million on 1,087 screens (significantly outscoring Marked For Death’s per-site average). It went on to earn $27 million in the U.S.
Mr. Destiny
Similar to It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Destiny is a fantasy film about a 30-something guy who regrets his life and is granted an alternate reality do-over by a guardian angel. Jim Belushi stars along with Michael Caine, Rene Russo, Jon Lovitz, Linda Hamilton, and Courteney Cox. Belushi had starred in the comedy Taking Care of Business two months prior, bringing in $20 million for that film. Reviews for this film were not good. Mr. Destiny opened at #7 with $2.9 million on 727 screens. It expanded to over 1,000 screens at the end of October and went on to earn $15.3 million.
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
Winona Ryder stars as a 15-year-old girl named Dinky who may be the daughter of a formerly local celebrity who is returning to town to much fanfare. Jeff Daniels plays Roxy’s husband. Ryder of course had broken out in Hollywood in 1988 with Beetlejuice and Heathers. Director Jim Abrahams came from the spoof comedy trio Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, responsible for Airplane! and The Naked Gun. Critics praised Ryder’s performance but were not keen on the story. Roxy Carmichael opened at #9 with $1.7 million on 635 screens. It went on to gross $3.9 million. Two months later Ryder would costar with Cher in Mermaids.
Releasing in limited release this weekend: Bloodfist 2 (Don Wilson), The Hot Spot (Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly), and To Sleep With Anger (Danny Glover - winner of Best Male Lead at the Independent Spirit Awards).
30 years ago - October 11, 1985
Silver Bullet
Silver Bullet is an adaptation of Stephen King’s novella “Cycle of the Werewolf.” Everett McGill, Corey Haim, Terry O’Quinn, and Gary Busey star as townsfolk trying to fend off murders by a werewolf. Reviews were mixed to poor. Silver Bullet opened at #3 behind Commando and Jagged Edge with $4 million on 1,285 screens. It went on to earn $12.3 million, the weakest performance of a Stephen King story to date until Maximum Overdrive threw under it in 1986.
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
This is my favorite anniversary of the week. Every year I like to put my brothers through a 1980s movie reeducation camp by screening my favorites they never saw when we were kids. To date the response has been fairly tepid: The Man With One Red Shoe and Buckaroo Banzai didn’t age as well in recent viewings as they did in my memory. But just this past year, Remo Williams generated plenty of laughs.
Fred Ward stars as a cop who is recruited by a secret government agency to be a lone weapon against the country’s enemies. In a training relationship similar to Luke Skywalker and Yoda, Remo learns the Korean martial art of Sinanju and attempts to master movement in the dark and speed faster than his enemies can shoot. Academy Award winner (for Cabaret) Joel Grey plays his hilariously politically-incorrect instructor Chiun, who is more interested in watching soap operas than in giving Remo a break. Kate Mulgrew plays an Army Major who insists on helping Remo take down a corrupt defense contractor. Director Guy Hamilton previously directed four James Bond movies, and the tone of this movie similarly reflects both humor and action.
One of my favorite laugh-out-loud sequences involves an ingenious set of Doberman guard dogs, and we also see an impressive sequence of actors actually scaling the scaffolding of the Statue of Liberty renovation that was in progress at the time of filming. The movie even earned an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup and a Golden Globe nomination for Joel Grey.
Unfortunately, audiences instead chose to see Commando this weekend. Remo Williams opened at #4 with $3.3 million on 1,170 screens and went on to earn $14.3 million. Though The Adventure Begins was intended to be the first of a series of movies based on the "The Destroyer" novels by Murphy & Sapir, tragically there was never a sequel. Give this movie a look for some fun 1980s entertainment.
Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!