Marquee History
March 2016
By Max Braden
April 4, 2016
BoxOfficeProphets.com
This edition covers highlights from weekly theatrical releases in the month of March for years 2006, 2001, 1996, 1991, and 1986.
Here are the movies that premiered on theater marquees ...
10 years ago - March 2006
March 3rd new releases:
16 Blocks / Ultraviolet / Aquamarine / Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
With Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion holding the #1 box office spot in its second weekend ($12.6 million), the most notable of the new releases was Dave Chappelle’s Block Party. Chappelle had aired two seasons of Chappelle’s Show in 2003 and 2004 before filming this documentary during the summer and fall of 2004 with director Michel Gondry. The block party event took place at the Broken Angel House in Brooklyn and featured a remarkable mix of music artists, including Mos Def, Kayne West, Erykah Badu, and The Fugees reunited with Lauryn Hill. While his show’s first season became the best-selling television series DVD of all time, Chappelle made news by walking away from his $50 million contract and disappearing to South Africa for a time in the summer of 2005. In lieu of a third season, fans first saw this film screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party was released to strong reviews this weekend at 1,200 theaters, putting it in the #7 spot with $6.2 million on the way to a total of $11.7 million.
March 10th new releases:
Failure to Launch / The Shaggy Dog / The Hills Have Eyes
The new releases this weekend captured the #1, #2, and #3 box office spots, with Failure to Launch taking in $24.4 million from 3,057 theaters. The Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker romantic comedy scored the best box-office opening of their careers to date, though its $88 million total gross fell short of the $105 million for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days three years earlier. Parker had won an Emmy award for the last season of Sex in the City in 2004; the television series was later made into a movie in 2008.
March 17th new releases:
V for Vendetta / She’s the Man / Find Me Guilty / Thank You For Smoking
The dark political thriller V for Vendetta was James McTeigue’s debut as a director after having worked on The Matrix trilogy with the Wachowski brothers. Hugo Weaving from that series plays a masked vigilante who guides Natalie Portman’s character and the people of an alternate future’s United Kingdom to rise up against their oppressive government on the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot. Though the film was based on a graphic novel from 1988, it was starkly relevant at a time of growing concern about government security regimes since 9/11/2001. The film’s legacy has continued in the form of the Guy Fawkes mask, designed by graphic artist David Lloyd, being adopted as an anti-authoritarian symbol by various protest groups and movements. V for Vendetta opened at #1 with $25.6 million from 3,365 theaters and eventually earned $70.5 million in the U.S. Also taking a darkly funny view on the business of social vices was Thank You For Smoking, which opened in five theaters this weekend before getting a moderately wide release in April.
March 24th new releases:
Inside Man / Stay Alive / Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector
The heist thriller Inside Man became and remains the biggest hit of director Spike Lee’s career. Denzel Washington stars as a detective dealing with bank hold-up from which the robbers (led by Clive Owen, who had a critical hit in 2004 with Closer) seemingly get away without having stolen anything. Jodie Foster and Christopher Plummer co-star. Inside Man opened at #1 with $28.9 million from 2,867 theaters and ended up with a total score of $88.5 million.
March 31st new releases:
Ice Age: The Meltdown / ATL / Slither / Basic Instinct 2 / Brick
Back in 2002 when Ice Age was released by 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios, the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature category was only two years old. Ice Age was both included in the nominees and a box office hit, and its sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown built on that success. The CGI animal adventure, featuring voices from Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary, included humor to appeal to both kids and adult audiences like the Shrek and Pixar movies, but also demonstrated that you could have a blockbuster hit before the summer season (a tradition continued by the studio’s Rio franchise). Ice Age: The Meltdown opened at #1 with $68 million from 3,964 theaters, surpassing the previous March opening weekend record set by the first Ice Age’s $46.3 million. The sequel went on to gross $195 million in the U.S. and a total of $465 million worldwide. The next sequel made even more money worldwide in 2009 by shifting to a summer release date, and the fifth entry in the series, Ice Age: Collision Course, will hit theaters in July 2016.
15 years ago - March 2001
March 2nd new releases:
The Mexican / See Spot Run / Carman the Champion
The Mexican stars Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts in this road movie about a guy trying to choose between his responsibilities to the mob (in obtaining an antique pistol from Mexico) and keeping his romantic relationship intact. The two actors were huge celebrities, but critics were not impressed with the chemistry between their characters. Instead, they highlighted the performance of James Gandolfini, playing a gay hitman who has some great dialogue with Roberts. The third season of The Sopranos debuted the same weekend as this movie was released. For Pitt, the box office performance of this movie was an improvement over the last five years, while for Roberts, it was a significant drop from her hit Erin Brockovich the year before. The Mexican opened at #1, taking down Hannibal in its fourth weekend, with $20.1 million from 2,951 theaters. It went on to earn $66 million in the U.S. and $81 million from foreign markets.
March 9th new releases:
15 Minutes / Get Over It / Blow Dry
This week’s trio didn’t make much of an impression, with the Robert De Niro / Ed Burns crime drama 15 Minutes coming in at #2 behind The Mexican, Kristen Dunst’s comedy Get Over It at #7, and the British comedy Blow Dry in limited release.
March 16th new releases:
Exit Wounds / Enemy at the Gates / Memento
Exit Wounds was notable this weekend for capturing the #1 spot with $18.4 million, making it the biggest opening of Steven Seagal’s career before or since. The box office performance was no doubt helped by the presence of rapper DMX; director Andrzej Bartkowiak had previously mixed martial arts with hip-hop in Romeo Must Die (starring Jet Li and Aaliyah) in 2000 with similar box office results. But the film that had critics talking was Memento, writer/director Christopher Nolan’s first significant theatrical release. Guy Pearce stars as Leonard Shelby, a man who suffers amnesia but uses Polaroid photos and notes to remind himself of what has happened in the past. He uses these clues to investigate who killed his wife. The mix of color sequences and black-and-white, intriguing mystery plot, and telling the story both forward and in reverse greatly impressed both critics. A year later, Memento earned Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing and a Directors Guild Award nomination for Nolan, paving the way for him to helm Batman Begins. Though the Writers Guild did not nominate it at the time, they eventually included Memento in their 2005 list of the “101 Greatest Screenplays” in film history. On this weekend, Memento opened at 11 theaters and expanded to a peak of just over 500 by the end of May, eventually earning $25.5 million in the U.S.
March 23rd new releases:
Heartbreakers / The Brothers / Say It Isn’t So
The Sigourney Weaver-Jennifer Love Hewitt comedy Heartbreakers won this weekend with $11.8 million followed closely by The Brothers, starring Morris Chestnut, D.L. Hughley, Bill Bellamy, and Shemar Moore at #2 with $10.3 million.
March 30th new releases:
Spy Kids / Someone Like You / Tomcats / The Tailor of Panama
The box office winner for both this weekend and the month was Spy Kids from director Robert Rodriguez, who was known up to that time for adult action films Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn. Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara star as the children of Carla Gugino and Antonio Banderas. The parents are revealed as superspies when they are captured, requiring the kids to save them from Alan Cumming’s villain. Critics were impressed by the movie’s comedy, action, and treatment of the kids without belittling them or the audience. Spy Kids opened at #1 with $26.5 million from 3,104 theaters and eventually earned $112 million, the highest gross of Rogdriguez’s career so far. Two sequels followed in 2002 and 2003, and the most recent entry in the franchise was released in 2011 (to significantly lower numbers).
20 years ago - March 1996
March 1st new releases:
Up Close and Personal / Down Periscope
Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer led the weekend with the journalism romance Up Close and Personal, opening at #1 with $11.1 million and a strong per-site average. Kelsey Grammer’s submarine comedy Down Periscope opened at #2 with $7.2 million.
March 8th new releases:
The Birdcage / Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco / Hellraiser 4: Bloodline / If Lucy Fell / Fargo
The Birdcage had the biggest opening of the weekend and the month, taking in $18.2 million for the #1 spot and holding it for three more weekends. The comedy from director Mike Nichols stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a flamboyantly gay couple challenged with playing it straight to impress some conservative future in-laws. Critics and audiences were impressed by the writing and entertaining performances, and the film was also later nominated for a Best Art Direction Oscar. The Birdcage went on to earn $124 million, putting it in the top ten box office hits of the year.
The release with the most lasting legacy from this weekend is of course Fargo, the crime comedy from the Coen brothers. Frances McDormand plays Marge Gunderson, a pregnant and no-frills local Minnesota police chief who investigates a kidnapping gone wrong. William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, and John Carroll Lynch co-star. The Coens’ peculiar sense of humor is present in both the sight gags (a dead body being fed into a wood chipper) and the dialogue, and the film helped bring the small-town Minnesota accent to national attention. Critics gave the film overwhelming praise, and at the Oscars it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Macy), Best Directo and Best Editing, as well as Best Actress (McDormand) and Best Writing - winning the last two. Fargo has since been entered into the National Film Registry. Released at 36 theaters this weekend, it expanded to over 700 theaters and eventually earned $24.6 million. Its lasting popularity with fans helped bring Fargo to television as a highly-praised series in 2014.
March 15th new releases:
Executive Decision / Ed
Kurt Russell’s terrorism thriller was something of a Jack Ryan copy that still managed decent reviews. Steven Seagal, who performs in an unusual co-starring role, thrilled audiences by dying early and earned a Razzie Award nomination for his troubles. Executive Decision opened at #2 with $12.0 million from 2,232 theaters and went on to earn $56.5 million.
March 22nd new releases:
Diabolique / Girl 6 / Race the Sun
The Birdcage remained the only real attraction this weekend, with Sharon Stone’s Diabolique opening at a distant #3 with $5.5 million.
March 29th new releases:
Sgt. Bilko / A Family Thing / All Dogs Go to Heaven 2
In Sgt. Bilko Steve Martin stars as the U.S. Army motor pool scamp based on the 1950s television character. The movie opened at #2 with $8.1 million.
25 years ago - March 1991
March 1st new releases:
The Doors / Shipwrecked / My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Oliver Stone’s take on The Doors came in behind The Silence of the Lambs at #2 this weekend with $9.1 million. In a bit of casting kismet, musician-poet Jim Morrison is portrayed by doppelganger Val Kilmer, who gives a spot-on performance during what was arguably his peak acting period. Reviews were mixed but the movie went on to earn $34.4 million.
March 8th new releases:
New Jack City / The Hard Way / American Ninja 4: The Annihilation / La Femme Nikita
New Jack City was the next opener to take on The Silence of the Lambs and come in second, earning $7.0 million but a significantly higher per-site average the Lambs due to its moderate 862 theater release. La Femme Nikita was only seen in two theaters this weekend and only made $5 million during its run, but this was the film that brought French writer-director Luc Besson (and actor Jean Reno) to the attention of American audiences. Besson’s story about a girl from the streets who is trained to become a deadly assassin features the stylish action and fragile-but-tough female protagonist that have been hallmarks of his career. Nikita was nominated at the Golden Globes for Best Foreign Language Film and was immediately remade in English as Point of No Return starring Bridget Fonda. The highly-rated television series La Femme Nikita ran for five seasons on the USA network from 1997 to 2001.
March 15th new releases:
Class Action / The Perfect Weapon / Guilty by Suspicion / If Looks Could Kill / True Colors
Gene Hackman’s legal drama was the strongest of the new movies this weekend and still only managed to come in at #4 with $4.2 million due to a moderate 778 theater release. But what interests me was the failed attempt at introducing two potential new action stars - martial artist Jeff Speakman in his acting debut in The Perfect Weapon and 21 Jump Street television star Richard Grieco in his theatrical debut, the more comedic spy flick If Looks Could Kill. Neither made much of an impact. Surprisingly, neither did the John Cusack-James Spader legal drama True Colors, which brought in less than a half million dollars during its entire run.
March 22nd new releases:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II / Defending Your Life
Not only was TMNT II the movie to take the #1 box office spot from Silence of the Lambs, its $20 million opening turned out to be the fifth biggest of the year and the second biggest March opening weekend ever, behind the $25 million opening for the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the previous year. TMNT II went on to earn $78.6 million overall. Although Defending Your Life was only seen at three theaters this weekend, for me it’s an anniversary worth celebrating. It expanded to a little over 700 theaters in April and must have been on regular cable-TV-station rotation later that year. Albert Brooks wrote, directed, and acted in this sci-fi romantic comedy as a middle-aged man who arrives in the afterlife and finds the legalistic review of his past life choices to be discouraging. At the same time he falls for another recently deceased character played by Meryl Streep. Rip Torn co-stars as his legal counsel. Both critical and audience reviews remain high for this film. Defending Your Life remains one of Brooks’ best and overlooked films. It’s worth checking out if you haven’t seen it.
March 29th new releases:
Career Opportunities / The Five Heartbeats
With TMNT II, The Silence of the Lambs, and Dances with Wolves topping the box office, Career Opportunities (Frank Whaley’s first lead role) came in at #4 with weak $4.0 million.
30 years ago - March 1986
February 28th new releases:
Pretty in Pink / House
Pretty in Pink was Molly Ringwald’s third John Hughes film, though this one was directed by Howard Deutch in his debut. Ringwald plays a high school girl from the poor side of the tracks who is pursued by a rich classmate played by Andrew McCarthy, much to the chagrin of her childhood friend Duckie, played by Jon Cryer. (“Blane? His name is Blane??”) Annie Potts and James Spader co-star. Both the film and its soundtrack collection of contemporary music remain 1980s fan favorites. Pretty in Pink opened at #1 with $6 million from 827 theaters. The horror comedy House came in a close second with $5.9 million from 1,440 theaters.
March 7th new releases:
Highlander / Nomads
Highlander was one of those great cheesy sci-fi action movies typical of the 1980s. Christopher Lambert plays an immortal warrior originally of the Scottish highlands trained by Sean Connery’s Egyptian/Spanish swordsman. Over the centuries the immortals fight each other to the death by decapitation (triggering the transfer of energy called “the Quickening”) until only Lambert’s Connor MacLeod is left in contemporary New York City to face The Kurgan, played by Clancy Brown. Queen provided music for the soundtrack, including songs Who Wants to Live Forever and It’s a Kind of Magic. Reviews weren’t good, but audience interest led to three (terrible) sequels and a well-regarded television series that ran for six seasons from 1992-1998. Highlander opened at #7 with $2.4 million from 1,040 theaters and took in $5.9 million overall.
March 14th new releases:
Gung Ho / Crossroads
Gung Ho was Michael Keaton’s fourth role since first starting in 1982 with Night Shift. Ron Howard directed that film and this one about a group of Pennsylvania factory workers who struggle to adapt when their car manufacturer is taken over by Japanese managers. Gedde Watanabe, George Wendt, John Turturro, and Mimi Rogers co-star. Reviews weren’t great, but audiences made Gung Ho #1 for the weekend with $7.1 million from 1,150 theaters. Nine months later Watanabe starred in a nine-episode television series based on the movie, with Scott Bakula playing Keaton’s character Hunt Stevenson.
March 21st new releases:
Police Academy 3: Back in Training / Just Between Friends / GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords / RAD
Steve Guttenberg and his co-stars returned for the next Police Academy sequel, now an annual spring tradition. This was the first in the series to be rated PG instead of R. Poor reviews didn’t stop audiences from going to see it, making Police Academy 3 the #1 movie for the weekend with $9.0 million from 1,788 theaters. This made it the second highest March opening weekend, after the $10.6 million opening of Police Academy 2. Police Academy 3 earned a total of $43 million, down from its predecessor and part of a decline that continued through Police Academy 7 in 1994.
March 28th new releases:
The Money Pit / April Fool’s Day / Lucas
If I compiled a list of my favorite movie scenes (and I should), the kitchen malfunction and flying turkey sequence from The Money Pit would rank near the top. Tom Hanks and Shelley Long star in this comedy about a couple who are swindled into buying what appears to be a stately house but turns out to be the ultimate restoration project. Long was currently in the fourth season of Cheers. This was another film success for Hanks. The Money Pit opened at #2 behind Police Academy 3 with $5.3 million from 1,189 theaters. It managed to take the #1 spot in its third week and went on to earn $37 million.
Lucas is one of those solid 1980s high school dramas not made by John Hughes. Corey Haim stars as a socially awkward kid too smart for his own good. Winona Ryder’s character plays his best friend with feelings for him, while he’s attracted to a new upperclassman played by Kerri Green, who’s interested in the jock played by Charlie Sheen, who is one of the few football players who doesn’t bully Lucas. It’s a whole lot of unrequited attraction and frustration and economic class issues (just like Pretty in Pink) that ends well but not as a fantasy. We’re also treated to a classic 1980s slow-clap scene. Tom Hodges and Jeremy Piven play bullies, and Courtney Thorne-Smith plays Sheen’s girlfriend. Lucas received good reviews but couldn’t turn that into opening weekend dollars. It opened at #11 with $1.2 million from 628 theaters but did manage to bring in $8.2 million overall.
I’d say March 1986 was a good month for moviegoers.
Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!