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15 years ago

Planet of the Apes - July 27, 2001
Over 25 years after the last sequel in the original Planet of the Apes franchise sequel, director Tim Burton took up this remake. Mark Wahlberg stars as a USAF astronaut who emerges from an electromagnetic storm in space to crash land on a planet where talking apes rule over humans in slavery. Tim Roth and Michael Clarke Duncan play the militaristic leaders of the apes, with Helena Bonham Carter and Paul Giamatti as more friendly characters. Charlton Heston has a cameo role as Zaius. Planet of the Apes took the #1 spot from Jurassic Park III with $68 million from 3,500 theaters, the year’s second highest opening. Its $180 million gross was a top ten result for the year, but did not generate a sequel. Rather, the series was rebooted ten years later with Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Also in limited release this weekend: Clive Owen and Helen Mirren in the prison comedy Greenfingers, and Janeane Garofalo with an ensemble cast in the camp comedy Wet Hot American Summer.


20 years ago

A Time to Kill - July 26, 1996
The fourth John Grisham legal thriller to be adapted for film stars Matthew McConaughey as the lawyer for an outraged father (Samuel L. Jackson) who kills his daughter’s rapists. Sandra Bullock, Oliver Platt, and Donald Sutherland co-star as part of the legal team. A Time to Kill opened at #1, finally unseating Independence Day in its fourth weekend, with $14.8 million from 2,123 theaters. Its $108 million gross passed The Pelican Brief and The Client, and is still the second highest grossing adaptation of Grisham’s novels, behind The Firm.

Kingpin - July 26, 1996
Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, and Bill Murray star in this bowling comedy from The Farrelly brothers, their next project after the success of their first film, Dumb and Dumber in 1994. This remains one of the Farrelly’s weakest performing films, but they bounced back with There’s Something About Mary, and we got a superior bowling comedy two years later with The Big Lebowski. Kingpin opened at #5 with $5.5 million and took in a total of $25 million.

Supercop - July 26, 1996
The third entry of Jackie Chan’s Police Story films was actually completed and released in Hong Kong in 1992. Michelle Yeoh plays an Interpol director who works with him to take down an opium drug lord and recover funds from a secure bank account. Released this weekend only five months after Rumble in the Bronx, Supercop didn’t fare as well, opening at #6 with $5.5 million and grossing only $16.2 million in the U.S. compared to Rumble’s $32.3 million.

The Adventures of Pinocchio - July 26, 1996
This live action adaptation of the familiar story includes Martin Landau as the toymaker Gepetto but mostly focuses on the hijinks of the wooden doll in the midst of other humans. Sort of like a less creepy Chucky. Pinocchio landed at #8 with $3.8 million and took in $15.0 million during its run.

Joe’s Apartment - July 26, 1996
This comedy starring Jerry O’Connell was the first project for MTV Films and featured a plot that even the MTV audience didn’t love: an apartment full of talking cockroaches. Joe’s Apartment bombed with only $1.8 million for the weekend, and a $4.6 million gross that didn’t come near its $13 million budget.

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