Marquee History
Week 35 - 2015
By Max Braden
August 29, 2015
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… pretty dismal due to this week falling on the dumping ground of the four-day Labor Day weekend. So, happy 30th, American Ninja.
Here are the movies that premiered on theater marquees this week...
10 years ago - September 2, 2005
Transporter 2
Jason Statham returns in the sequel to the 2002 Luc Besson action film as the courier with a code: Frank Martin doesn’t ask any questions, drives fast, kicks and punches fast, and reluctantly saves the innocent. The weekend’s widest-shown movie, on 3,303 screens, Transporter 2 opened at #1 with $20 million over the four-day Labor Day weekend, which was a record best Labor Day opening to that time (since passed by Halloween and The Possession). Its total gross of $43 million in the U.S. remains Statham’s best solo lead box office performance. The successful series continued with a third Statham movie three years later, a TV series in 2012, and a fourth movie (starring Ed Skrein) coming to theaters next week.
The Constant Gardener
This romantic political thriller based on the John le Carré novel stars Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Hubert Kounde, Danny Huston, and Bill Nighy. With a moderate release on 1,346 screens it wasn’t going to win the weekend, but it did have the best site average. Reviews were very good and personally I ranked it in my top five movies that year, so I encourage everyone to see it if they haven’t yet. Weisz won the Best Supporting Actress award at the Oscars and Screen Actors Guild awards, and the movie also earned multiple nominations with various groups. The Constant Gardener opened at #3 with $10.9 million and finished with $33 million.
Underclassman
Nick Cannon stars as a cop going to school undercover to solve a murder and car thefts in this comedy. Cannon had starred in the well-received Drumline in 2002 and released a rap album in 2003. Poor reviews, poor audience response, and a moderate release led Underclassman to open at #11 with $3 million and close at $5.6 million. He’s since been more famous for hosting America’s Got Talent and for being Mr. / ex-Mr. Mariah Carey.
A Sound of Thunder
Edward Burns and Ben Kingsley star in this sci-fi adventure based on the Ray Bradbury short story in which a time-travel dinosaur safari business goes wrong. Production suffered casting and financing trouble, and that certainly showed on screen with lousy visual effects. Reviews were lousy, and the movie opened at #17 with less than a million dollars on 816 screens.
15 years ago - September 1, 2000
Highlander: Endgame
This fourth entry in the sci-fi action series that began in 1986 brings together Adrian Paul from the TV series and Christopher Lambert from the movies. While the swordplay action is decent, critics complained about the writing. It may not have been as bad as the epic disaster of Highlander 2 in 1991, but this sequel both opened and grossed less than its two predecessors. Highlander: Endgame opened at #5 with $6.2 million over the Labor Day weekend on 1,543 screens, and even its international total of $15 million failed to match its $25 million budget.
Whipped
Amanda Peet serves as the object of affection for a trio of guys in this romantic comedy. Reviews were poor and Whipped opened at #14 with $2.7 million on 1,561 screens.
Gone in 60 Seconds, which had opened in theaters in June and had been nearing the end of its run, was bumped back up to 1,426 screens for the weekend in a push to bring its gross over $100 million (which it finally reached at the end of September).
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