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20 years ago

Ransom - November 8, 1996
Ron Howard’s kidnapping thriller stars Mel Gibson as a wealthy businessman whose son is taken and ransomed for millions of dollars...or his life.  Initially working with the FBI (Delroy Lindo), Gibson’s character horrifies his wife (Rene Russo) by putting up the money as a bounty on the kidnappers.  Gary Sinise, Lili Taylor, and Liev Schreiber co-star as the kidnappers.  Gibson had picked up Best Director and Best Picture Oscars earlier in the year for Braveheart.  A strong trailer and positive reviews also helped, leading audiences to put the film firmly into the #1 spot at the box office with $34.2 million from 2,676 theaters.  This was the best opening of Mel Gibson’s and Ron Howard’s careers to date, and was also the sixth best November opening at the time.  The film’s final domestic total of $136 million was the fifth best of the year, and it earned an additional $173 million from overseas markets.

Set It Off - November 8, 1996
This action film from director F. Gary Gray stars Vivica A. Fox, Jada Pinkett, Kimberly Elise, and Queen Latifah as four women so frustrated with a series of work and personal setbacks that they start robbing banks.  John C. McGinley plays the detective on their trail.  Solid critical and audience response gave Set It Off the second highest per-site average of the weekend.  Opening just behind Romeo + Juliet in its second weekend, Set It Off opened at #3 with $8.8 million from 1,014 theaters and earned a profitable $36.4 million gross.

25 years ago

All I Want for Christmas - November 8, 1991
This feel-good seasonal comedy stars Thora Birch who asks Santa Claus (Leslie Nielsen) to help get her parents back together.  Maybe it was too early for Christmas or just not another Miracle on 34th Street, but All I Want for Christmas opened at #4 with $3.6 million from 1,507 theaters, ultimately bringing in $14.8 million.

Strictly Business - November 8, 1991
Tommy Davidson stars in his first film role as a guy in the mail room trying to move up the corporate ladder with the help of his established friend, played by Joseph C. Phillips.  Halle Berry co-stars in her first year of film acting (appearing in Jungle Fever over the summer), and Samuel L. Jackson has a part.  Strictly Business had a modest opening at #8 with $2.4 million from 881 theaters, going on to gross $7.6 million.

30 years ago
Opening films this weekend were no match for repeat competition: Crocodile Dundee again held the #1 spot in its seventh week with $6.3 million, followed by The Color of Money (four weeks), Soul Man (three weeks), and Peggy Sue Got Married (five weeks).

Tai-Pan - November 7, 1986
Bryan Brown stars in this saga of trade wars in 19th century Hong Kong.  Joan Chen, playing his love interest, earned a Razzie Award nomination for her role. Tai-Pan was the "best" performing of the weekend’s new films, opening at $5 with $1.8 million from 860 theaters and only bought in $4.0 million during its brief theatrical run.

Something Wild - November 7, 1986
Jeff Bridges stars in this comedy adventure as a regular guy who crosses paths with an eccentric woman named Lulu, played by Melanie Griffith.  Their budding romance is interrupted by Lulu’s ex - Ray Liotta in one of his earliest film roles (and looking like he just walked over from the set of Grease).  Though it had a modest opening, Jonathan Demme’s film has enjoyed a longtime favorable audience, and Daniels, Griffith, and Liotta all earned Golden Globe nominations for their roles.  Something Wild opened at #7 with $1.8 million from 914 theaters and went on to earn $8.3 million.  

52 Pick-Up - November 7, 1986
Roy Scheider stars in this thriller from novelist Elmore Leonard and director John Frankenheimer as the spouse of a politician (Ann-Margaret) who is blackmailed over his affair with a younger woman (Kelly Preston).  52 Pick-Up had a mediocre opening at #8 with $1.6 million from 730 sites, and made only $5.1 million overall.

Come back next week for another installment of Marquee History!

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