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15 years ago
The Fast and the Furious - June 22, 2001
Who’d have thought that this little heist film would launch such a huge franchise? This film can also claim a significant influence on real-world car culture and customization. The Fast and Furious had a strong opening at #1 with $40 million from 2,628 theaters and brought in a total of $144 million. Paul Walker returned for the sequel without Vin Diesel in 2003, the original cast was reunited in the fourth film, and Dwayne Johnson joined the franchise with the fifth film. The eighth entry in the franchise is planned for release in April 2017. Also this weekend, Eddie Murphy’s comedy Dr. Doolittle 2 opened at #2 with $25 million and an eventual total of $112 million, underperforming the first Doolittle remake and both of Murphy’s Nutty Professor comedies.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence - June 29, 2001
Steven Spielberg’s futuristic drama stars Haley Joel Osment as a family robot companion. Reviews were good but U.S. audiences didn’t flock to it like Spielberg’s more famous adventures. A.I. opened at #1 with $29 million from 3,242 theaters and earned $78 million domestically but double that from foreign markets. Also opening this weekend: Director John Singleton’s drama Baby Boy opened at #5 with $8.6 million; the Kirsten Dunst romance crazy/beautiful opened at #9 with $4.7 million; and Chris Rock’s raunchy comedy Pootie Tang took in $1.5 million from 712 theaters.

Cats & Dogs - July 4, 2001
Warner Bros. family-friendly adventure mixes CGI pets with live action settings in a plot about a secret high-tech battle between the species for world domination. Opening on the Wednesday holiday, Cats & Dogs won a close battle for #1 with $21.7 million over five days at 3,040 theaters. It would go on to earn $93 million domestically. The Wayans Brothers horror spoof Scary Movie 2 came in at #2 with $20.5 million and earned a total of $71 million - both totals being less than half of its predecessor’s box office performance. Luc Besson’s action thriller Kiss of the Dragon opened at #4 with $13.3 million. Kiss of the Dragon is my favorite Jet Li martial arts film, in equal part thanks to Thierry Arbogast’s excellent cinematography.

20 years ago
Eraser - June 21, 1996
After a weak point with the holiday comedy Junior, Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the top of the box office in this action thriller with Vanessa Williams and James Caan. Eraser opened at #1 with $24.5 million from 2,410 and earned $101 million in the U.S. (his fifth $100+ million hit) and an additional $141 million from foreign markets. Disney’s animated musical adventure The Hunchback of Notre Dame wasn’t far behind, though, opening at #2 with $21.0 million. It also crossed the $100 million mark domestically as part of a $325 million worldwide total.

The Nutty Professor - June 28, 1996
Remaking the 1963 Jerry Lewis comedy, but in a fat suit, Eddie Murphy scored his biggest hit since Coming to America and wiped away the criticism he suffered from David Spade for A Vampire in Brooklyn’s flop. The Nutty Professor opened at #1 with $25.4 million from 2,115 theaters and earned $128 million domestically. That success led to a sequel four years later. Striptease, on the other hand, was slammed this weekend with terrible reviews. Demi Moore’s adult-oriented drama was a polar opposite of her voice work in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which held over at #3. Striptease opened at #4 with $12.3 million, earned just $33 million in the U.S., and later won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture of the year as well as Worst Actress, Director, Screenplay, Song, and Screen Couple (with Burt Reynolds).

Independence Day - July 3, 1996
The initial draw for audiences was surely the image of an alien ship completely obliterating the White House, but it was Will Smith who made this film a hit (still the biggest box office success of his career). Bill Pullman’s battle speech has also helped the film endure as an icon of American July 4th sentiments. “ID4” took the fastest-to-$100-million record from Jurassic Park, reducing it from nine days to six, and also set the fastest-to-$200-million record on the way to a domestic total of $306 million. Pullman and Jeff Goldblum returned for the 2016 sequel to comparatively disappointing box office results. Also opening this weekend, John Travolta’s sci-fi drama Phenomenon came in at #3 with $16 million but had strong legs and finished with $104 million domestically.

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