Marquee History
Week 8 - 2017
By Max Braden
February 22, 2017
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Like romances, the weekend after Valentine’s Day experiences a break up at the box office, with new films struggling to compete. Among them is the overlooked gem Starter for 10, plus the 40th anniversary of Slap Shot.
Here are the movies that premiered on theater marquees this week…
10 YEARS AGO
The Number 23 - February 23, 2007
Like many comedians, Jim Carrey had ventured into drama with movies like The Truman Show, Man on the Moon and The Majestic, but this project was an especially unfunny thriller. Carrey plays a regular guy who becomes obsessed with connections surrounding the number 23, leading him into a plot involving murder and suicide. Critics rejected the film but the trailers intrigued audiences enough to make it #2 behind Ghost Rider with $14.6 million from 2,759 theaters. The end result was a $35.1 million domestic gross for something that cost twice as much.
Reno 911!: Miami - February 23, 2007
Comedy Central’s cop series was in its fourth season when this film was released. Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, and Kerri Kenney-Silver portray the Reno Sheriff’s Department members as they travel to Miami Beach for a police convention but find themselves the only ones available to police the city as the convention is on lockdown. Patton Oswalt plays the city Mayor and main antagonist. Reno 911!: Miami opened at #4 behind Bridge to Terabithia with $10.2 million and eventually earned $20.3 million.
The Astronaut Farmer - February 23, 2007
Billy Bob Thornton plays Charles Farmer, a ranch owner and former USAF pilot who fulfills his dream of becoming an astronaut by building a rocket in his own barn. The film debuted at #9 with $4.4 million and earned $11 million.
Amazing Grace - February 23, 2007
Ioan Gruffudd portrays William Wilberforce, the English Member of Parliament who led the anti-slavery movement from 1787 to the abolishment of the slave trade in 1807. The title comes from his association with John Newton, played by Albert Finney here, who wrote the words to the famous hymn. Benedict Cumberbatch (this and Starter for 10 were his first first notable appearances in theatrical releases), Michael Gambon, Toby Jones, and Ciaran Hinds co-star. Amazing Grace opened at #10 with $4 million from just 791 theaters and earned $21.2 million as well as a solid reception among critics.
The Abandoned - February 23, 2007
Perhaps the only reason this horror flick is notable is for its terrible box office performance: opening at 1,000 theaters, it earned less than a million dollars this weekend. Contrasting its per-theater average of $782 with the $5000+ averages for the box office leaders, The Abandoned fell into the top 25 of the worst opening averages over the past two decades.
Starter for 10 - February 23, 2007
Showing on only 20 screens this weekend, this film was missed by many and didn’t make a dent at the box office. Still, it’s worth a look as a rental, both for the romantic comedy and for the early appearance of actors we know more prominently in 2017: James McAvoy plays a university student in London who falls for his classmate, played by Alice Eve, while overlooking the girl right in front of him, played by Rebecca Hall. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the captain of the university’s quiz team, and James Corden, Dominic Cooper, and Charles Dance have supporting roles. At the time of release I compared Starter for 10 to Real Genius in tone. It’s one of my favorite overlooked films in the past ten years - go rent it!
Also in limited release this weekend, Gray Matters starred Heather Graham, Bridget Moynahan, and Thomas Cavanagh.
15 YEARS AGO
Queen of the Damned - February 22, 2002
Many years before Stephenie Meyer introduced the Twilight series, Anne Rice was the queen of the vampire novel. 1988’s Queen of the Damned was the third entry in her Vampire Chronicles series which began in 1976 with Interview with the Vampire. Tom Cruise, of course, starred the successful film adaptation in 1994. In this adaptation, Stuart Townsend portrays the vampire Lestat, who becomes a high profile heavy metal band singer. Real life R&B singer Aaliyah costars as the first vampire, Akasha, who mates with Lestat and fights other vampires with him. Aaliyah had died tragically in a plane crash in August 2001, which certainly played a factor in audience interest for this release. Reviews were not good, but Queen of the Damned opened at #1 with $14.7 million from 2,511 theaters, finishing with a meager $30.3 million.
Dragonfly - February 22, 2002
Director Tom Shadyac is mostly known for comedy work with Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy, but here he helms a bittersweet fantasy/thriller. Kevin Costner plays a doctor and widower who keeps seeing signs that his deceased wife is trying to contact him from beyond. Kathy Bates, Ron Rifkin, and Linda Hunt play supporting roles. Dragonfly flopped with critics and audiences, opening at #3 behind last week’s John Q. with $10.2 million, and finishing with $30.3 million (but on a budget nearly twice that of Queen of the Damned’s).
20 YEARS AGO
The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition - February 21, 1997
The digital ink was barely dry on the Special Edition of Star Wars (#2 with $11 million in its fourth week of release) when this edit of Episode V was released. In addition to sparkling special effects, audiences got a better view of the creatures and locations on Hoth and Bespin. Despite the fact that this is the superior film in the original trilogy, this edit of Empire took in a third less at the box office than the Star Wars edit did at the end of January: $21.9 million from 2,111 theaters, easily taking the February opening weekend record set by Dante’s Peak (itself at #4 this weekend). The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition held #1 for its second weekend, and was followed by the Return of the Jedi Special Edition in mid March before adding $67 million to Episode V’s lifetime total of $290 million in the U.S.
Rosewood - February 21, 1997
Director John Singleton’s fourth project is a fictionalized telling of the real destruction of a Florida town in 1923. Ving Rhames stars as as an Army veteran looking to settle in the black town of Rosewood, which erupts into violence when a white woman makes a false accusation triggering a lynch mob. Don Cheadle, Jon Voight, Esther Rolle, Robert Patrick, and Michael Rooker co-star. Screenwriter Gregory Poirier received an honorary award from the Writers Guild of America, and reviews of Singleton’s approach were very strong. Debuting at only 991 theaters though, Rosewood ranked at #8 at the box office with #3.1 million, toward a final tally of $13.1 million.
Lost Highway - February 21, 1997
Debuting at 12 theaters this weekend and only expanding to a few hundred during its release, David Lynch’s noir wasn’t destined to be a box office draw, but has since become one of his notable works. Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette play a married couple stalked by a creepy stranger (Robert Blake) until she is murdered, and he is convicted. Pullman’s character is later released and runs into trouble with a gangster (Robert Loggia) and a second go around with Arquette. As with other David Lynch films, there are plenty of surreal elements in the storytelling here. In another surreal real world twist, Blake was arrested for the murder of his wife in 2001 but was acquitted at trial; Lost Highway remains his last film appearance.
Also in limited release this weekend the heist drama Blood and Wine starred Jack Nicholson, Stephen Dorff, Michael Caine, and Jennifer Lopez.
25 YEARS AGO
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot - February 21, 1992
In between Rocky V and Cliffhanger, Sylvester Stallone took on lighter roles in Oscar and this comedy with Estelle Getty, who was in her seventh and final season of The Golden Girls television series. Stallone plays a cop who is frustrated at his mother’s constant interference, especially after she gets involved with one of his cases. Director Roger Spottiswoode previously directed cop comedies 48 Hrs. and Turner & Hooch, but this time was met with overwhelmingly poor reviews. While Wayne’s World held at #1, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot opened well behind at #2 with $7 million from 1,958 theaters. Its $28.4 million total was only a slight improvement over Oscar.
Radio Flyer - February 21, 1992
In a flashback narrated by Tom Hanks, ten-year-old Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello spend their childhood days avoiding their abusive father but also enjoy great adventures. Unfortunately the abuse is so bad that they plan to have the younger brother, Bobby, escape in an airplane made from a Radio Flyer wagon. Whether it’s an allegory or a simple nostalgic and escapist fantasy, critics were not happy with the outcome. At 940 theaters, Radio Flyer debuted at #9 with $1.9 million and brought in a total of $4.6 million.
In limited release this weekend, Julie Kavner and Carrie Fisher starred in Nora Ephron’s dramedy This is My LIfe, and John Mellencamp debuted (both as actor and director) in the drama Falling From Grace with Mariel Hemingway.
30 YEARS AGO
Death Before Dishonor - February 20, 1987
The only new wide release this weekend was a highly jingoistic action thriller invoking the Beirut Marine Barracks bombing, in which Fred Dryer (of the TV series Hunter) plays a U.S. Marine who responds to a terrorist attack on an embassy in an Arab country. Paul Winfield, Brian Keith, and Joanna Pacula costar. Released in 776 theaters, there was little chance it was going to compete against Platoon (#1 this weekend with $8.2 million) and other wide releases from earlier in the month. Death Before Dishonor opened at #7 - behind Crocodile Dundee in its fifth month in theaters - with $1.8 million. Dryer returned to Hunter through 1991.
Morgan Stewart’s Coming Home - February 20, 1987
Jon Cryer, of course, had become well known a year earlier as the eccentric supporting character Duckie in Pretty in Pink. Here he leads as a slightly less eccentric character, a boarding school prankster who is called upon to adopt a squeaky clean image to help his father get re-elected as U.S. Senator. Lynn Redgrave plays his high strung mother. It’s no Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but Cryer is pretty entertaining in the role. On the other hand, the director chose to take credit as the “please-don’t-notice-me” pseudonym Alan Smithee, and critics weren’t fans. A release at only 28 theaters (and 344 at its widest) meant that audiences didn’t see it until the film showed up on HBO, but this is one of those non-John-Hughes '80s teen comedies that’s still essential for the 1980s completionist.
40 YEARS AGO
Slap Shot - February 25, 1977
Given the anemic selection this week, I wanted to highlight the 40th anniversary of this classic. Paul Newman stars as Reggie Dunlop, the coach and lead player of minor league hockey team The Chiefs, which is struggling to survive in a town where the main employer, a local mill, is about to close. Dunlop uses new recruits the Hanson Brothers (real life players Jeff and Steve Carlson, and David Hanson) to get physical and provoke fights, which in turn boosts fan enthusiasm and the morale on the team as they start to win games. Everything came together for this film: director George Roy Hill had worked with Newman on The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Nancy Dowd’s screenplay was nominated by the Writers Guild of America, and the acting, characters, action, and dialogue all combined to create a fan favorite.
Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!