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15 years ago - October 13, 2000

Lost Souls
Winona Ryder and Ben Chaplin star in this demonic possession movie directed by Academy Award winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan). As you can expect, the visual style of the movie was praised while the content was not. Lost Souls opened at #3 behind Remember the Titans with $7.9 million on 1,970 screens. It went on to gross $16.8 million, far below its budget and the numbers for her tragic romance Autumn in New York, released two months earlier. Kaminski thankfully went back to shooting movies for Steven Spielberg (including this month’s Bridge of Spies).

The Ladies Man
Saturday Night Live star Tim Meadows developed the character of Leon Phleps - a supremely self-confident radio sex therapist - during the late 1990s before he left the show in early 2000. The Blues Brothers had been the first and only SNL characters to have their own movie until the 1990s, which saw eight character movies before this one. As with many of the 1990s SNL movies, this one was not well received by critics. The Ladies Man opened at #4 with $5.4 million on 2,022 screens. It went on to gross $13.6 million.

The Contender
Joan Allen stars as a nominee for Vice President who comes under fierce scrutiny over her private life in this political drama from writer/director Rod Lurie (his first wide theatrical release). Jeff Bridges plays the president and Gary Oldman plays the congressional antagonist. Reviews were good, with critics noting the highly partisan nature of the movie with the real life Bush/Gore presidential election only a few weeks away. The Contender opened at #5 with $5.3 million on 1,516 screens. It went on to gross $17.8 million. Both Jeff Bridges and Joan Allen would later receive Oscar nominations for their performances, with Oldman also getting a SAG nomination.

Dr. T and the Women
Richard Gere stars in an ensemble romantic comedy drama as a gynecologist for rich Texas women. Farrah Fawcett plays his wife, Kate Hudson his daughter, and Helen Hunt, Laura Dern, Shelley Long, Liv Tyler, and Tara Reid costar. Just like Winona Ryder this week, Gere fared a lot better with their romance in Autumn in New York a couple months earlier. Reviews were mixed at best, and audiences weren’t buying in. Dr. T and the Women opened at #7 with $5.0 million on 1,489 screens. It went on to earn $13.1 million, Gere’s weakest performing movie since 1993’s Mr. Jones..

Billy Elliot
Jamie Bell stars as an 11-year-old boy who takes up ballet in a coal mining town in Northern England during the 1980s, where he faces issues of gender bias. This was the first film from director Stephen Daldry and screenwriter Lee Hall, who both came from acclaimed works in the theatre. Reviews of the movie were excellent. First displayed at Cannes, and in theaters in the UK at the end of September, Billy Elliot opened in 10 theaters in the U.S. this weekend and later peaked at just over 500 theaters. But with the high praise and audience interest it showed great legs (zing), bringing in a total of $22 million in the U.S. and $109 million worldwide, a huge success for a movie made for less than $5 million. Daldry and Hall were nominated for Oscars and won Best British Film at the BAFTAs. Julie Waters (who plays Billy’s dance teacher) also received an Oscar nomination and won a BAFTA along with Jamie Bell. Waters went on to play Mrs. Weasley in the Harry Potter films and Bell has transitioned successfully into adult roles on television and in the movies. In 2005 the movie was adapted into a musical with music by Elton John. The musical won four Laurence Olivier Awards and ten Tony Awards and is still running in London today.

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