New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

20 YEARS AGO
 
Breakdown - May 2, 1997
Kurt Russell stars in this thriller as a man desperate to save his abducted wife from a sinister truck driver (J.T. Wash in one of his best performances).  Audiences made it #1 with $12.3 million from 2,108 theaters headed toward a total of $50.1 million.
 
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - May 2, 1997
Mike Myers stars in this groovy spoof on the spy genre, and co-stars as Dr. Evil.  Given the success of Wayne’s World, it’s remarkable look back and see that this highly quotable comedy debuted at #2 with only $9.5 million and a total gross of $53.8 million - less than half of Wayne’s World.  But fans flocked to the sequel: The Spy Who Shagged Me earned a $54 million opening and $206 million gross two years later.
 
The Fifth Element - May 9, 1997
Bruce Willis saves the world from destruction by the evil Zorg (Gary Oldman) with the help of alien Leeloo (Milla Jovovich in her breakthrough role) in this sci-fi adventure from French writer/director Luc Besson. Thierry Arbogast’s vivid cinematography still looks spectacular 20 years later.  The Fifth Element opened at #1 with $17 million, earned $63.8 million in the U.S., and a huge $200 million from foreign markets, putting it at #9 for the year in worldwide receipts.
 
May 16, 1997 - New releases barely cracked the top ten this weekend.
 
The Lost World: Jurassic Park - May 23, 1997
Four years after the blockbuster success of Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg and Jeff Goldblum returned for this sequel set on a neighboring island, now with Julianne Moore and Pete Postlethwaite in the cast.  The sequel fell short of the first film’s domestic gross by almost $130 million, but it took the all-time opening weekend record from Batman Forever with $90 million over the long Memorial Day weekend ($72 million three-day).  The Lost World took in $229 million domestically (third for the year) and $618 million worldwide. Jurassic Park III followed in 2001.
 
Addicted to Love - May 23, 1997
The love/hate comedy with Matthew Broderick and Meg Ryan opened at #2 with #11.4 million and brought in a meager $34.6 million.  
 
May 30, 1997 - With Jurassic Park holding on to the top spot with $34 million, the comedies Gone Fishin’ and Trial and Error opened at #3 and #4 in the $5 million to $6 million range.
 
Con Air - June 6, 1997
Teaming Nicolas Cage and producer Jerry Bruckheimer again after the success of The Rock , Cage’s U.S. Army Ranger has to prevent a group of prisoners lead by Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich) from escaping their transport plane.  Con Air stole the #1 spot from Jurassic Park with $24.1 million from 2,824 theaters and earned $101 million overall.

25 YEARS AGO
 
May 1 and 8, 1992
New films barely made a dent at the box office in early May, with Split Second and Folks! debuting at #4 and #5.  The top spots were held by March openers Basic Instinct and White Men Can’t Jump, which eventually earned $117 million and $76 million respectively.
 
Lethal Weapon 3 - May 15, 1992
This time, LAPD detectives Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of an arms dealer selling “cop killers” - armor-piercing bullets.  With each entry in this series comes a new cast member; Joe Pesci returns as Leo Getz from Lethal Weapon 2, and Rene Russo joins the cast as Internal Affairs (and love interest) Sgt. Cole.  Lethal Weapon 3 opened at #1 with $33.2 million from 2,510 theaters, taking the May opening weekend record from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  It grossed $144 million in the U.S., the fourth best of the year.
 
Alien 3 - May 22, 1992
Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley, who lands on a penal colony world.  Alien 3 opened at #2 behind Lethal Weapon with $23.1 million from 2,227 theaters over the Memorial Day weekend, which was an improvement over Aliens, but its overall gross was the weakest of the series to date with only $55 million.  Alien Resurrection performed even less impressively five years later.  Alien: Covenant recently opened on May 19, 2017 with $36 million.
 
Far and Away - May 22, 1992
Real life husband and wife Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star in Ron Howard’s epic Irish immigration saga set in 1893 Oklahoma.  The film is remembered as much for its lush cinematography as it is for Cruise’s uncertain accent, and its box office disappointment.  Far and Away opened at #3 with $12.9 million and took in only $58.8 million in the U.S. on a $60 million budget.
  
Sister Act - May 29, 1992
Whoopi Goldberg stars as a lounge singer and witness to a murder, hiding out in a convent run by the stuffy Maggie Smith.  Sister Act opened at #2 behind Lethal Weapon with $11.8 million from 2,087 and went on to earn $139 million, the sixth best total of the year.  Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit followed in December 1993 with less impressive box office results.  The choir-centric comedy was eventually adapted as a stage musical in 2006 and later in 2011 on Broadway.
 
Patriot Games - June 5, 1992
Following Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of Jack Ryan in The Hunt For Red October, Harrison Ford took over the role for this thriller centered around terrorism by the Irish Republican Army.  Sean Bean plays the baddie.  Patriot Games opened at #1 with $18.5 million from 2,365 theaters and eventually earned $83.3 million, a shortfall from the $122 million earned by Red October.  Ford returned as Ryan in the more successful Clear and Present Danger in 1994.

Continued:       1       2       3       4