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25 years ago - October 5, 1990

Marked for Death
Highlighting the epidemic of drug crime in the country, Steven Seagal’s third martial arts movie has him starring as a DEA agent who takes on a Jamaican gang in his home town. Keith David costars. Marked for Death opened bigger than Hard to Kill, but earned just about the same overall gross. Marked For Death opened at #1, taking down Pacific Heights from the previous week, with $11,7 million on 1,968 screens. It eventually earned $6 million.

Fantasia (1940)
Disney’s classic features a number of animated segments set to the music of classical composers. Mickey Mouse stars as The Sorcerer's Apprentice, hippos dance, and spirits swirl around Bald Mountain. Originally released in November 1940, it celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2015. The movie had been reissued times over the years, and for its 50th anniversary it was completely remastered. I was a teenager in 1990 and despite being a fan of martial arts and action films, I went to see this reissue with a buddy of mine because we knew the historical significance of it (and I guess we figured it would make us a little more sophisticated. I struggled to stay awake but I do remember enjoying it.) This reissue of Fantasia opened at #2 with $6.0 million on 481 screens. It earned $25 million during this run.

Desperate Hours
Mickey Rourke stars in this escaped convict/home invasion crime drama, remade from the 1955 movie. Anthony Hopkins Mimi Rogers, Shawnee Smith, Elias Koteas, and David Morse costar. Reviews were not good, and Mickey Rourke was nominated as Worst Actor at the Golden Raspberry Awards (there seems to be a lot of that going around this week). Desperate Hours opened at #9 with $1.3 million on 1,033 screens. It eventually earned just $2.7 million.

Henry & June
Henry & June was released on only 76 screens this weekend but gained attention as an NC-17 rated film with plenty of sexualization. The Unbearable Lightness of Being’s Oscar-nominated writer Philip Kaufman wrote and directed this movie, which stars Fred Ward as writer Henry Miller, and Uma Thurman as his wife, set in 1930s Paris. Kevin Spacey appears in a minor role. Reviews were more interested in the visual style than anything else, and the film later received an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography. Audience interest was strong, giving it $1 million for the weekend, an average even higher than Fantasia. It expanded through October to a few hundred screens and eventually earned $11.5 million.

Avalon
Also in very limited this weekend was Avalon, from director Barry Levinson and starring Armin Mueller-Stahl as the head of a Jewish immigrant family assimilating into 1950’s Baltimore. Kevin Pollak, Aidan Quinn, and Elijah Wood costar. Reviews were strong, and the movie received four Oscar nominations, for Screenplay, Cinematography, Costume Design, and Original Score by Randy Newman. Avalon expanded to a peak of 635 screens in October and November and eventually grossed $15.7 million.

30 years ago - October 4, 1985

Commando
Arnold Schwarzenegger had already established himself in movies by 1985, with two roles as Conan, Red Sonja, and the success of The Terminator in October 1984. Commando, though, was where audiences got to start seeing him as a modern action hero with some humor and one-liners. Schwarzenegger plays ex-Delta Force commando John Matrix, who is drawn out of a quiet life when his daughter, played by Alyssa Milano (now in her second season of Who’s the Boss?) is kidnapped. Rae Dawn Chong costars as the flight attendant who helps reluctantly, but it’s probably David Patrick Kelly's scenes as villainous thug Sully that are the most memorable: “You’re a funny guy, Sully, I like you. That’s why I’m going to kill you last.” Bill Duke also provides an imposing opponent. Reviews of the action flick were good and audiences made Commando #1 for the weekend with $7.7 million on 1,495 screens, taking the October opening weekend record from Stallone’s First Blood set in 1982. (Stallone still handily won the 1985 rivalry with May’s release of First Blood II, earning $20 million on its opening weekend in May and $150 million overall). Commando went on to earn $35 million.

Jagged Edge
Glenn Close’s acting career started strong right out of the gate - three consecutive Oscar nominations for her first three films: The World According to Garp, The Big Chill, and The Natural. Thanks to a script by Joe Eszterhas, Close takes on a more passionate role in his courtroom thriller as a lawyer who gets intimately involved with a murder suspect played by Jeff Bridges. Peter Coyote plays the prosecutor and Robert Loggia plays a private eye. Reviews were good and Loggia was later nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars. Jagged Edge opened at #2 with $4 million on 1,125 screens and outperformed Commando during its run with a total $40 million gross.


Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!

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