Marquee History
Week 50 - 2015
By Max Braden
December 14, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com
This week's highlights are the 20th anniversary of Heat, 25th anniversary of Edward Scissorhands, and 30th anniversary of Clue.
Here are the movies that premiered on theater marquees this week...
10 years ago - December 16, 2005
King Kong
Having completed his epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, director Peter Jackson moved on to this remake of the 1933 thriller. He again called on Andy Serkis to provide the motion capture acting that would bring the giant ape to life. Naomi Watts stars as Ann Darrow, with Jack Black and Adrien Brody playing Carl Denham and Jack Driscoll respectively. The film’s final $207 million budget made it the most expensive movie ever produced, making significant use of visual effects. Reviews were good, but the 3+ hour runtime resulted in an opening that didn’t quite meet initial expectations. King Kong opened on Wednesday the 14th, bringing in $16 million before its three-day weekend of $50.1 million from 3,568 theaters. That put it at #4 in the all-time December opening weekend list. The film made $218 million in the U.S. and a total of $550 million worldwide.
The Family Stone
This is probably my favorite dysfunctional holiday movie. Sarah Jessica Parker stars among the ensemble cast as the girlfriend who visits her boyfriend’s family for Christmas and just can’t seem to fit in. Dermot Mulroney, Luke Wilson, Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams, Elizabeth Reaser, and Tyrone Giordano play the children of Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson. Luke Wilson’s stoner advice to Parker to “let your freak flag fly” and the requisite kitchen disaster provide the comedy, while Diane Keaton and Claire Danes provide some drama. The mixed tone resulted in mixed reviews, but audiences made it profitable. The Family Stone opened at #3 behind The Chronicles of Narnia with $12.5 million from 2,466 theaters and eventually earned $60 million.
The Producers
The original Producers was a 1968 comedy film made by Mel Brooks, was turned into a Broadway musical in 2001 starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, which they then turned back into this film in 2005, which involves a plot about a musical. The two play Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom, two producers who hope to swindle investors but encounter a problem when their intended flop is a hit. Uma Thurman and Will Ferrell play the intended stars of the show, called “Springtime for Hitler.” Jon Lovitz, Michael McKean, and Richard Kind co-star. Reviews were decent, and the film earned four Golden Globe nominations. The Producers opened in six theaters this weekend, with an average of $25,765 per site, and expanded to a little under 1,000 theaters by the end of December. By the end of February it had earned $19.3 million, an unprofitable loss compared to its $45 million budget.
Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Not many audiences actually saw this movie in theaters but it’s notable as the first movie directed by Tommy Lee Jones. He stars as a rancher and best friend of Melquiades Estrada, an illegal immigrant accidentally killed and hastily buried in Texas by a Border Patrol agent. Jones’s character decides to fulfill a promise of burying his friend properly in his Mexican home town. Barry Pepper, Dwight Yoakam, Melissa Leo, January Jones, and Julio Cedillo co-star. The Three Burials was initially shown at Cannes, where Jones won Best Actor, and was released in five theaters this weekend. Expanding to just a few hundred theaters in February, it ran until June, earning a total of $5 million.
15 years ago - December 15, 2000
What Women Want
Mel Gibson stars as an ad exec who loses out a promotion to a woman, played by Helen Hunt, because of his chauvinist mentality. Due to a slip and fall not unlike Doc Brown’s, he is blessed/cursed with the ability to read all women’s thoughts. The ability creates opportunity and trouble in his work and romantic life. Marisa Tomei, Mark Feuerstein, Alan Alda, Lauren Holly, and Ashley Johnson co-star. After seeing him play tough cops for years, what women wanted to see was him struggle with trying to put on pantyhose. Gibson even received a Golden Globe nomination for his comedic performance. What Women Want opened at #1 with $33 million from 3,012 theaters, taking the December opening weekend record from Titanic. What Women Want went on to earn $182 million in the US, which was Gibson’s best career result until Signs in 2002.
Dude, Where’s My Car?
I remember the night I saw this in theaters, having nothing to do and deciding I should just see the first available movie. That was the last time I’ve done that. Critics didn’t like it either, but this silly, stupid comedy was an audience favorite and helped bring Ashton Kutcher to stardom. He and Seann William Scott star as stoners who have to find their lost car in order to deliver anniversary presents to their girlfriends, played by Jennifer Garner and Marla Sokoloff. I had completely forgotten that there’s a whole alien invasion element to the plot. Among the movie’s more memorable scenes: Kutcher and Scott repeatedly reading each other’s back tattoos “Dude” and “Sweet.” Dude, Where’s My Car? actually beat out How the Grinch Stole Christmas (in its fifth weekend) for the #2 spot with $13.8 million from 2,087 theaters. It went on to earn a profitable $46 million domestic gross.
The Emperor’s New Groove
Disney’s 40th animated feature was so fraught with reworking that Trudie Styler’s documentary The Sweatbox turned out to be more about the production’s faults than the creative process it first intended to showcase. The project was originally a musical titled Kingdom of the Sun but after Sting had completed a slate of songs specifically linked to the plot, he was told they had to be scrapped. The story was rewritten as a comedy, and features the voice of David Spade as a spoiled Incan emperor named Kuzco. Cursed by Yzma (Eartha Kitt) to take the form of a Llama, Kuzco learns how oppressive he’s been from a local peasant named Pacha (John Goodman). Patrick Warburton voices Kronk, Yzma’s muscle-bound henchman.
The changes turned out to be a good thing, because reviews were complementary of the comedic focus. Sting’s song “My Funny Friend and Me” was nominated for an Oscar, and the movie’s success led to the TV series The Emperor’s New School in 2006. The Emperor’s New Groove opened at #4 behind How the Grinch Stole Christmas with $9.8 million from 2,801 theaters. Eventually it grossed $89 million U.S. and $169 million worldwide, not one of Disney’s financial high points.
Chocolat
Lasse Hallstrom directs this romance based on the novel by Joanne Harris. Juliette Binoche plays a chocolatier who moves into a town in France and upsets their quiet existence with her outward personality and style. Alfred Molina plays her antagonist, the town’s mayor. Judi Dench, Lena Olin, Johnny Depp, Peter Stormare, and Carrie-Anne Moss co-star. Reviews were good, and the film received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Screenplay, Actress (Binoche), Supporting Actress (Dench), and Music. Chocolat opened with an average of $19,703 per its eight theaters this weekend, and eventually expanded to over 1,900 theaters in March. It eventually earned $71 million in the U.S., well over its $25 million budget.
Pollock
Ed Harris stars as Jackson Pollock, the painter who developed a signature style of throwing and dripping paint on the canvas. Marcia Gay Harden plays his wife, Lee Krasner. Ed Harris also directs the movie, the first time he served in that position. He received his third career Oscar nomination for his performance, and won Best Supporting Actress in her first time as a nominee. Reviews were good, and the film earned an average of $22,122 for its two theaters this weekend. It expanded to a peak of 280 theaters at the end of March and eventually earned $8.5 million overall.
20 years ago - December 15, 1995
Jumanji
This PG-rated fantasy adventure was based on the 1981 children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg about a board game that unleashes an alternate reality of chaos. Robin Williams stars as a man who as been stuck inside the game’s world since he was a boy, and is released by the children of his childhood friend, now played by Bonnie Hunt. Kirsten Dunst, David Alan Grier, and Bebe Neuwirth co-star. Mixed reviews aside, the movie was a hit among family audiences. Jumanji opened at #1, unseating Toy Story after three weeks at the top, with $11 million from 2,487 theaters. It became a top 10 earner for the year, taking in just over $100 million. The success of the movie even spawned the Jumanji television series that ran for three seasons starting in 1996.
Heat
“If I’m there, and I gotta put you away, I won’t like it. But I’ll tell ya. If it’s between you and some poor bastard, whose wife you’re gonna turn into a widow… brother, you are going down.”
Martin Scorsese is a pretty good director, but for me, Michael Mann’s film is the magnum opus of crime thrillers. He originally adapted this story in 1989 (based on a real robbery standoff in the 1960s) as a TV pilot/movie called L.A. Takedown. In this 1995 reworking Robert De Niro plays Neil McCauley, the no-nonsense heist crew leader who has no interest in making waves or taunting the police; he’s a cold killer if he needs to be but will bail out of a plan if it’s prudent. Al Pacino plays volatile detective Vincent Hanna, who cares more about his cases than his marriage.
Though the whole movie is brooding and great, two sequences in particular make this one of the iconic movies of the 1990s; the running shootout climax, and the mid-plot face-off between McCauley and Hanna over coffee. This film is the first time Pacino and De Niro appear together acting face to face, and the quiet fireworks in the dialogue make for one hell of a scene. Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Ashley Judd, Amy Brenneman, William Fichtner, and Natalie Portman co-star, among others. The action still resonates a generation later; developers of the video game Grand Theft Auto V, released in 2013, included a sequence taken directly from the film. While some viewers probably got a little restless during the film’s nearly three-hour runtime, I just see that as more to enjoy. Heat opened at #3 to good reviews and the best theater average of the wide releases this weekend, with $8.4 million from 1,325 theaters. It only made $67 million in the U.S. but brought in a total of $187 million worldwide, making it a financial success. That this film eluded Oscar voters is just criminal.
Sabrina
This remake of the 1954 Bogart/Hepburn romantic comedy stars Harrison Ford as Linus Larrabee, Julia Ormond as Sabrina, and Greg Kinnear as David Larrabee in a complicated love triangle directed by Sydney Pollack. Critics were not impressed by the pale comparison to the original movie, though John Williams and Sting both received Oscar nominations for the musical score and original song “Moonlight.” Sabrina opened at #5 with $5.5 million from 1,821 theaters and finished with $53 million, just a hair more than its $50 million production cost.
Sense and Sensibility
Last week we saw the anniversaries of two of Ang Lee’s major milestones - Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - and this week we have his first major breakthrough project. Here he directs Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson as Marianne and Elinor Dashwood from Jane Austen’s novel and Thompson’s script. Hugh Grant, Tom Wilkinson, and Alan Rickman co-star. Jane Austen fans got their fill in 1995, with the theatrical releases of this film and Persuasion, and the BBC mini-series of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth. Ang Lee’s film was very well received and later earned seven Oscar nominations - for Best Picture, Writing, Actress (Thompson), Supporting Actress (Winslet, who won the SAG award), Cinematography, Costume Design, and Music - but surprisingly not one for Best Director, despite a nomination by the Directors Guild of America (he and Ron Howard were replaced in the Oscar ballots by Chris Noonan and Tim Robbins). Emma Thompson won for her screenplay, making her the only person to have won Oscars in both the writing and acting categories. Sense and Sensibility opened in 70 theaters this weekend and expanded to over 1,000 in February, eventually earning $43.1 million in the U.S.
Othello
Laurence Fishburne stars as Shakespeare’s title character, with Irene Jacob as Desdemona and Kenneth Branagh as Iago. In the history of Hollywood films to this point, there were only two major theatrical adaptations of the play, one in 1952 starring Orson Welles and the other in 1965 starring Laurence Olivier who played the part in blackface. This version was the first to feature an African-American actor in the role. Reviews were good and Branagh later received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for his performance, but audiences didn’t support the film at the box office. Othello opened in two theaters this week with a good but not amazing site average of $14,558 per theater. It stayed in very limited release and earned $2.8 million overall.
25 years ago - December 14, 1990
Look Who’s Talking Too
What do you do with a baby who can’t take acting direction? Give him a comic voiceover. And what do you do when your talking baby movie is a breakout hit? Double down and make a sequel, of course. Kirstie Alley and John Travolta return as the parents of now-toddler Mikey (voiced by Bruce Willis), and now new-baby Julie (voiced by wisecracking Roseanne Barr, then in the third season of her hit sitcom). Damon Wayans voiced another baby named Eddie, and Mel Brooks voices Mikey’s feared nemesis, Mr. Toilet Man. Though comically voiced-over babies and animals will always capture audience attention, repeating the same joke can wear thin. Reviews were poor and the sequel came up nearly $100 million short of its predecessor. Look Who’s Talking Too opened at #2 behind Home Alone (still #1 in its fifth weekend) with $8.1 million from 1,576 theaters. In the end it grossed just $47.7 million. The film also snagged two Razzie Award nominations for Gilbert Gottfried, who appeared on screen, and Roseanne Barr, who didn’t. Still, Travolta and Alley returned for another sequel in 1993 (Bruce Willis wisely moved on) which performed even worse.
Edward Scissorhands
In a sort of topsy-turvy mashup of Pinocchio, Frankenstein, and Freddy Krueger, Johnny Depp plays a young man assembled by an inventor but left awkwardly with scissors for hands in this adolescent sci-fi-sh drama. Brought into the home of a teenage girl played by Winona Ryder (who was dating Depp offscreen), Edward is seen by the neighborhood both as a gifted hair stylist and landscaper but also as a freak and a threat, especially by Anthony Michael Hall’s character. Once a scrawny underdog in 1980s comedies, Hall had matured to be in the position to play a bully. This was the first of many eccentric and iconic roles for Depp, and one of Tim Burton’s most creative and touching movies. Danny Elfman of course provides the soundtrack. This was to be Vincent Price’s last on-screen performance in a theatrical release. Reviews were excellent, and the film received an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup. Edward Scissorhands was initially released in two theaters on December 7th, earning $79,811 per site that weekend, and then expanded to 1,023 this weekend. It took the #3 spot with $6.3 million, earning the best wide-release average of the weekend. It was a commercial success, earning $56 million during its run.
Mermaids
Winona Ryder stars as the daughter of an eccentric single mother played by Cher in this comedy drama set in the 1960s. She falls for a boy played by Michael Schoeffling while Bob Hoskins pairs with Cher. Christina Ricci appears in her first movie role as Cher’s younger daughter. Reviews were fairly good, and Ryder received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. Mermaids opened at #6 with $3.5 million from 920 theaters and a steady audience helped it bring in $35 million.
Havana
Sydney Pollack directs Robert Redford in this drama set on the eve of the Cuban revolution. Redford plays a gambler and smuggler who falls for a woman played by Lena Olin, and must decide between her and his poker game. In another galaxy, this would be the story of Han Solo. Reviews were poor and the movie bombed at the box office, though it did earn an Oscar nomination for the musical score by Dave Grusin. Havana opened at #9 with $2.1 million from 824 theaters and eventually earned $9.2 million.
30 years ago - December 13, 1985
The Jewel of the Nile
With Romancing the Stone landing among the top ten box office hits of 1984, Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito return for the sequel. While Robert Zemeckis directed the first movie, he took on Back to the Future and this movie was directed by Cujo’s Lewis Teague. Other than the locations changing from South America to Arabia, the plot is basically the same: Joan takes on a writing assignment and gets in trouble, Jack comes to her rescue, and Ralph tries to make a buck out of the circumstances. Though that didn’t inspire critics, it was enough to sell the sequel. Jewel of the Nile opened at #2 behind Rocky IV with $6.6 million from 1,106 theaters. It went on to gross $75.9 million in the U.S., just short of Romancing the Stone’s $76.5 million gross.
Clue
A movie based on a board game? A decade before Jumanji, Clue was one of the first. Tim Curry stars in this comedy - director Jonathan Lynn’s first movie - as the butler for Mr. Boddy, who is blackmailing six guests until he’s murdered in the dark. The ensemble cast features Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, and Colleen Camp. Critics may have found it too scattershot, but I think it resulted in too many funny lines to pick a favorite. The movie was unusual in that audiences saw one of three different endings depending on which theater they attended. Clue opened at #6 with $2.0 million from 1,004 theaters, a fairly weak audience response compared to the other movies this weekend. After adding up all the box office dollars (one plus two plus one plus one, or is it one plus one plus two plus one?) it made $14.6 million in the U.S.
A Chorus Line
Ten years earlier, the Broadway production of this musical won multiple Tony awards and in 1983 became the longest-running show in Broadway history (until 1997 when Cats became the next recordholder). Richard Attenborough’s film format stays fairly close to the stage production, though it does switch out some songs for new ones, with Michael Douglas as the director who interviews the dancers who perform the music. Theater purists may not have been happy, but the movie did later earn Oscar nominations for Best Original Song (“Surprise, Surprise”), Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. A Chorus Line opened at 19 theaters this weekend and added 600 a week later, reaching a peak weekend box office position of #8 at the end of the month. It grossed a total of $14.2 million in the U.S.
Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!