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20 years ago

Maximum Risk - September 13, 1996
Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in this action piece as a cop who investigates the death of his previously-unknown twin brother.  Natasha Henstridge co-stars, coming off of her success with Species in 1995.  Hong Kong director Ringo Lam’s film leaned more heavily on chase sequences than Van Damme’s typical one-on-one martial arts.  The result was less successful than his other early 1990s films, but still a #1 opener.  Maximum Risk brought in $5.6 million from 2,358 theaters and a maximum gross of $14.5 million.

Fly Away Home - September 13, 1996
This family-friendly drama was a sort of Free Willy for geese; Jeff Daniels stars as a man prompted by his 13-year-old daughter (Anna Paquin) to help some geese migrate from Canada to North Carolina.  Based on the real instance of Bill Lishman, Daniels uses an ultralight aircraft to lead the geese in flight.  Critics and audiences responded to the great cinematography by Caleb Deschanel, who later earned an Oscar nomination for it.  Paquin, who had won an Oscar for The Piano a few years earlier, earned multiple Young Artist Award nominations for this role.  Fly Away Home had the best average income for the weekend’s films, opening at #2 with $4.7 million from 1,320 sites.   It eventually grossed $25.1 million compared to a modest budget.

The Rich Man’s Wife - September 13, 1996
Halle Berry stars in this thriller about jealousy and murder, with Christopher McDonald, Peter Greene, and Clive Owen.  Reviews were weak and with a moderate distribution, The Rich Man’s Wife opened at #5 with $3.1 million from 1,006 theaters, and went on to gross $8.5 million.

Feeling Minnesota - September 13, 1996
Keanu Reeves and Cameron Diaz star in this dramedy about a twisty plot to steal from a strip club owner played by Delroy Lindo, and Diaz’s husband played by Vincent D’Onofrio.  With only 869 theaters and modest audience support, Feeling Minnesota took in $1.5 million for the #12 spot and went on to earn $3.1 million.

25 years ago

Freddy’s Dead:  The Final Nightmare - September 13, 1991
New Line’s first 3-D release, this slasher was the sixth entry in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise that began in 1984.  Robert Englund returns as Freddy Krueger, who hunts a new batch of teenagers in their dreams.  Breckin Meyer is one of them, in his second career role.  Tom Arnold, Roseanne Barr, Johnny Depp, and Alice Cooper appear briefly.  The film title completely spoils the ending, as an already undead Krueger is declared newly dead, but the series thrived with this release.  Freddy’s Dead opened at #1 with $12.9 million from 1,862 theaters, the best opening for the series to date.  Its $34.8 million gross was lower than parts 3 and 4, but was enough to spawn Wes Craven’s New Nightmare in 1994 and two later entries.


30 years ago

Avenging Force - September 12, 1986
American Ninja’s Michael Dudikoff stars in this sequel to the Chuck Norris 1985 action flick Invasion U.S.A.  Dudikoff portrays the Matt Hunter character who uses his martial arts skills to save his own sister and a politician from an organization called the Pentangle.  While Chuck Norris’s Invasion U.S.A. opened at #1 and earned $17 million, Dudikoff’s entry failed to draw an audience: it opened at #10 with $1.1 million from 500 theaters and finished with $4.6 million.

Audiences instead went to see the fall and summer juggernauts that were still dominating the box office: of the top 9, the most recent film was in its 5th week.  Stand By Me led at #1 in its 6th week still at just over 800 theaters, while Top Gun held the #2 spot in its 18th week at 1,327 theaters; both brought in $3.0 million this weekend.  The Fly, The Karate Kid Part II, and Aliens rounded out the top 5.

In limited release this weekend:  The sequel to 1984’s summer sex romp, Hardbodies 2 made 1/100th of the first’s gross;  Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft starred in ’Night, Mother.

Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!

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