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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 10th anniversary of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and the 20th for Get Shorty and Mallrats.

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

10 years ago - October 21, 2005

Doom
The Rock got off to a decent start in his transition to movies back in 2002, which opened with $36 million, but immediately started to slide into the teens with his lead roles. Doom put him together with a big budget, an established video game title featuring lots of Aliens-style action, and it turned out to be his lowest grossing movie to date (and until 2010’s Faster if you exclude the very limited release Southland Tales). Critics didn’t like it but realized that fans of the genre would go see it anyway. Doom opened at #1, taking down Wallace & Gromit and last week’s opener The Fog, with $15.4 million on 3,044 screens. It went on to gross only $28 million in the U.S. compared to a $60 million production budget.

Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story
This family horse racing drama stars Dakota Fanning as the daughter of a horse trainer played by Kurt Russell. Together they bring a horse back from injury to become a winning race horse and the catalyst for a family bond. Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue, and David Morse costar. Dreamer opened at #2 over Wallace & Gromit with $9.1 million on 2,007 screens. It added more screens in the following weeks, peaking on 2,735 screens with a total gross of $32.7 million.

North Country
Based on the first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit in the United States, North Country stars Charlize Theron as a Minnesota worker at an iron mine who suffers character assassination when she tries to push for the rights of her fellow female workers. Frances McDormand, Richard Jenkins, Sissy Spacek, Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean, Jeremy Renner, and Michelle Monaghan costar. Most critics were impressed. Theron and McDormand were both nominated for Oscars. North Country opened at #5 with $6.4 million on 2,555 screens and went on to gross $18.3 million.

Stay
A psychological thriller from Finding Neverland director Marc Forster and Troy writer David Benioff, starring Ewan McGregor, Ryan Gosling, and Naomi Watts. Critics noted the visual style but overall gave it negative reviews. Stay opened at #13 with $2.1 million on 1,684 screens and quickly left theaters with a total of $3.6 million.

Kids in America
A high school comedy that also includes a surprising adult cast of Julie Bowen, Adam Arkin, George Wendt, Samantha Mathis, Rosanna Arquette, and Elizabeth Perkins. The movie bombed with critics and did even worse at the box office, recording a $628 per-site weekend average on 701 screens. The movie left theaters with only $537,667.

Shopgirl
Based on Steve Martin’s novella, Claire Danes plays a young woman named Mirabelle who captures the attention of a wealthy older man (Martin) and a younger, less focused artist (Jason Schwartzman). Far from the slapstick style that launched Steve Martin’s comedic career in the 1970s, Shopgirl is a much more subtle, bittersweet romance. Critics were mostly moved, but it’s understandable why this movie wouldn’t play to Steve Martin’s typical audience. Shopgirl was released on eight screens this weekend and later expanded to 493 sites, eventually earning $10.2 million in the U.S.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
This movie marked a comeback of sorts for three of the names involved. Screenwriter Shane Black first hit it big by launching the Lethal Weapon franchise in 1987, but didn’t write the installments in the 1990s. His last movie, The Long Kiss Goodnight, was in 1996. Robert Downey Jr.’s career was suffering due to drug arrests in the late 1990s. Val Kilmer’s career had been in decline since 1997’s The Saint. It’s unfortunate, then, that Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang was only given a limited release, because it marks a point where all three men were back in the groove. Downey plays a bumbling petty thief and Kilmer plays a snarky private investigator in this crime comedy. The chemistry they have on screen enhances Black’s sharp dialogue, which led to strong reviews from critics. If you missed this movie when it was released, give it a look now. *I* think I’ll rewatch it this weekend. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang opened on eight screens this weekend and peaked on 226 screens, eventually grossing $4.2 million in the U.S.

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