Marquee History

Week 32 - 2015

By Max Braden

August 9, 2015

Whoever catches the most popcorn in their mouth wins!

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Welcome to Marquee History, the weekly column that takes you back to a time when you - or your parents - were younger. Prepare to become nostalgic (and shocked) at how much time has passed when you recall what was new in theaters 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years ago.

This week's highlights are the 30th anniversary of Pee-wee's Big Adventure and one of my favorite movies of all-time, Real Genius.

Here are the movies that premiered on theater marquees this week...

10 years ago - August 12, 2005

Four Brothers
Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Andre Benjamin, and Garrett Hedlund star as brothers from Detroit who track down the killer of their adoptive mother. Four Brothers won the weekend at #1, ahead of The Dukes of Hazzard's second weekend, with $21 million. It would go on to earn $74 million domestically, which is director John Singleton's second-best performer to date (not adjusted for inflation) behind 2 Fast 2 Furious.

The Skeleton Key
Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, John Hurt, and Gena Rowlands star in the PG-13 haunted house thriller. Critical and audience response was moderate, putting The Skeleton Key at #2 in the weekend box office with $16 million and an eventual total of $47 million.

Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Rob Schneider returns in the sequel to his 1999 comedy about a male prostitute. Suffering terrible reviews, European Gigolo opened at #5 with $9.6 million. It barely earned back its $22 million budget, less than a third of the gross of the first movie. Schneider won Worst Actor at the Razzie Awards where the movie was also nominated for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Remake or Sequel, and Worst Screen Couple.

The Great Raid
Benjamin Bratt, Sam Worthington, and James Franco star in this $80 million war film about a true-life rescue mission during WWII. Opening in limited release, reviews were mediocre, and the movie earned $3.3 million for the weekend.

Grizzly Man
Director Werner Herzog's documentary about naturalist Timothy Treadwell, who fell prey to the bears he loved, is perhaps as well known for Herzog's idiosyncratic narration as it is for the harrowing details of his subject. Reviews were excellent, and the film would win many critic's circle awards. Herzog won the Directors Guild of America award for documentaries. Grizzly Man opened in 29 theaters, at an average $9,280 per site, and eventually peaked at 105 sites with a total gross of $3.1 million.




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15 years ago - August 11, 2000

The Replacements
Keanu Reeves stars as football quarterback Shane Falco in this sports/rom-com, with Gene Hackman and Brooke Langton. Reeves had a huge success with The Matrix the previous year, but The Replacements received mixed reviews and opened at #3 behind holdovers Hollow Man and Space Cowboys. The Replacements earned $11 million for its opening weekend and $44 million overall.

Autumn in New York
Richard Gere and Winona Ryder star in this tragic romance from director Joan Chen. Gere had a big success with Julia Roberts in the rom-com Runaway Bridge the previous year. Reviews for Autumn were weak. It had a better per-site average than The Replacements but fewer screens, opening at #4 with $10 million, eventually earning $37 million domestically.

Bless the Child
Kim Basinger stars in the R-rated horror based on the novel by Cathy Cash Spellman. Critics panned the movie but it managed a $9.4 million opening weekend at #7, going on to $29 million domestically.



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