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Requiem for a Dream
Releasing on only two screens this weekend and peaking on fewer than 100 screens, audiences didn’t really get to see this movie in theaters, but it certainly gained attention from critics. Director Darren Aronofsky’s second film is based on Hubert Selby Jr.’s novel about drug addiction. Among the cast of Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayons, Jared Leto, and Christopher McDonald, Ellen Burstyn stood out and was later nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars. In order to avoid an NC-17 rating for sexual content the film was released Unrated. The subject matter is often described as bleak and depressing, but critics praised the movie for its visual style, as they have continued to do throughout Aronofsky’s filmography. Requiem for a Dream eventually earned $3.6 million

Also opening in limited release this weekend: Bamboozled (from Spike Lee, starring Damon Wayans).


20 years ago - October 6, 1995

Assassins
As mentioned above in Get Carter, here’s one of those lackluster Stallone movies at the start of his slump. He stars along with Antonio Banderas as a couple of rival hit-men, directed by Richard Donner. The original script came from the Wachowski brothers but was rewritten by Brian Helgeland. Reviews were poor and Stallone was nominated for Worst Actor at the Golden Raspberry Awards. (This is a terrible week for Stallone to release movies.) Assassins failed to unseat Se7en in its third week in theaters, and came in at #2 with $9.3 million on 2,343 screens. Eventually it earned $30 million, falling far short of its $50 million budget.

Dead Presidents
The second movie from Menace II Society directors The Hughes Brothers is a crime drama starring Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, and Bokeem Woodbine as Vietnam veterans who turn to crime when they find no support on returning to America. Terrence Howard appears in one of his early roles and Martin Sheen has a small role. Reviews were mixed. The official soundtrack rose to #1 on the Hip Hop charts, prompting the release of a second soundtrack. Dead Presidents opened at #3 with $7.9 million on only 1,081 screens, the strongest per-site average of the weekend. It eventually grossed $24 million.

How to Make an American Quilt
An ensemble drama about women who tell their stories of relationships with men as the main character prepares to be married. Winona Ryder stars alongside Anne Bancroft, Samantha Mathis, Maya Angelou, and Alfre Woodard. Both Claire Danes and Jared Leto (in his first film role) appear, having costarred together in the TV series My So Called Life… earlier in the year. Reviews were mixed, but the cast was nominated together at the Screen Actors Guild awards, and Winona Ryder and Dermot Mulroney were nominated for Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards. How to Make an American Quilt opened at #5 with $5.7 million on 1,504 screens. It eventually earned $23 million.

Releasing in limited release this weekend: Kicking and Screaming, Noah Baumbach’s first film.

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