This mid-October weekend saw surprisingly little in terms of horror (with one recent exception), but did see one Best Picture winner, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt in different movies opening the same weekend, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt in the same movie opening on a different weekend, two adaptions of W. Somerset Maugham adaptions, two Annette Bening vehicles, and one foul-mouthed Katharine Hepburn.
One Year Ago--October 19, 2018: In the fall of 1978, a low-budgeted horror film about an escaped mental patient stalking and killing teenage babysitters became an unexpected sensation. The star, whose previous biggest role was a supporting part on a short-lived sitcom, became one of the few actors who got their start in slasher films to go on to have a sustained and respectable career. And that film would be followed by no less than seven sequels, following a variety of timelines, as well as a remake, which was followed by its own sequel. Finally, forty years later, the whole thing came full circle with Halloween. Taking the title of the original, this sequel brought back Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode. Never mind Laurie had already been killed off twice before, this one wiped all previous sequels out, including Halloween II, which revealed that Laurie and Michael were siblings. Now no longer sharing DNA, this version of Laurie had spent the previous 40 years preparing for the day Michael would escape again and come after her. Of course, she was right. The David Gordon Green revival also boasted a low budget, which it handily earned back and then some opening weekend, as the film opened to a huge $76.2 million, far and away the best opening for a slasher flick and second-best opening for an R-rated horror film. The new Halloween didn't have much staying power, which was to be expected for a horror movie called Halloween released two weeks before Halloween, but it still ended its run with an extremely profitable $159.3 million. Because this is Halloween, of course there will be two sequels coming out in the coming years. Halloween would be the only new wide release that weekend, but three movies did expand after a limited release. The Hate U Give expanded to over 2,000 theaters, but could only manage sixth, behind A Star Is Born, Venom, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, and First Man. The Old Man and the Gun arrived in enough theaters to come in 10th, but The Sisters Brothers bombed completely, jumping only to 14th. Opening in limited release was Jonah Hill's directorial debut, the comedy-drama Mid90s, starring 12-year-old Sunny Suljic (who had also played a supporting role in The House With a Clock In its Walls) as a pre-teen skaterboy who falls in with a pack of older skaters, in an effort to avoid his troubled home life, including his angry older brother (Lucas Hedges, who would be in three movies that fall). Critics were mildly positive toward the film, but like a lot of the lower-budgeted, more indie releases last year, it didn't fare so well when it went into wide release, ultimately grossing $7.4 million. Also opening was Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Melissa McCarthy's third film of the year, and by far most successful, even if it was the lowest-grossing. In this true story, McCarthy played biographer Lee Israel, who discovers a lucrative side gig of forging letters from dead celebrities. McCarthy would get an Oscar nomination, as would Richard E. Grant, as her boozy best friend, as well as the screenplay. The film wouldn't really break out of the art houses, even with McCarthy, but would earn a respectable $8.8 million.
Five Years Ago--October 17, 2014: Five years after Inglourious Basterds, Brad Pitt revisited the end of World War II in Fury, which was equally violent, but offered a more accurate take on the final days of the European conflict. Pitt played the hardened commander of a tank squadron plowing their way across Germany, with Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, and Michael Pena under his command. Critics were moderate on the David Ayer-directed war actonier, but audiences liked it, as it opened at #1 to $23.7 million and ended up grossing a solid $85.8 million. After Gone Girl in second, the animated The Book of Life opened in third. Beating Coco by three years, this told the story of a member of a family of bullfighters who would prefer to be a musician, and the bet between the rulers of the Land of the Remembered and the Land of the Forgotten that led to his premature--and unplanned--death. A strong voice cast (including Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, and Channing Tatum) and striking animation only led to mildly positive reviews, and the film did only moderate business, opening to $17 million and ending its run with $50.2 million. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day came in 4th for the weekend, ahead of The Best of Me. The poorly received romantic drama, based on a Nicolas Sparks novel, starred Michelle Monaghan and James Marsden as teen lovers reunited as adults It opened to $10 million and finished its run with $26.8 million, making it one of the lowest-grossing Sparks adaptions. In limited release, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) opened on four screens. The surreal comedy-drama starred Michael Keaton as an actor renowned for starring in a series of superhero movies trying to mount a comeback by starring in a Broadway adaption of Raymond Carver's works. The film, for the most part, got raves, and would end up being a major Oscar player, with Keaton getting his first-ever nomination, while Edward Norton (as Keaton's brilliant but extremely difficult co-star) and Emma Stone (as Keaton's rebellious daughter) also getting nominated. It would win for its cinematography (as the film mostly looked like it was shot in one continuous take--oddly, the film's editing, which also contributed to the illusion, wasn't nominated), its original screenplay, for Alejandro G. Inarritu's direction (the first of two consecutive Best Director wins), and for the film itself, a rare win for a film that has a more experimental structure, something the Academy usually doesn't care for. Birdman would end up grossing $42.3 million, which was pretty good for what is in reality a rather strange film, even if it is a little disappointing for a Best Picture winner. Finally, also opening in limited release was Dear White People, a dramady following four black students at a prestigious, mostly white university in the days leading up to a racist frat party. Critics mostly like the film, and it did all right in the art houses, grossing a total of $4.4 million, and then going on to be adapted into a well-received Netflix series.
Ten Years Ago--October 16, 2009: A month after Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, another, even more acclaimed adaption of a thin kids book arrived. Spike Jonze directed a live action Where the Wild Things Are, based on Maurice Sendak's beloved picture book. 12-year-old Max Records played Max, a kid who, after getting upset by the changes he can't control, runs away and eventually finds his way to an island filled with monsters, voiced by, among others, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, and Catherine O'Hara, where Max is proclaimed king. But even in a fantasy utopia, things can't help but go wrong. The film seemed to inspire strong emotions with some critics, who proclaimed it among the very best films of the year, though overall, the response was a bit more muted. More than one critic, however, pointed out that, despite being a PG-rated film based on a children's classic and starring an actual kid, it seemed to be aimed much more at the parents in the audience. Said audiences noticed that, as well, since after a strong $32.7 million opening, the film faded almost immediately, finishing its run with a less-than-wild $77.2 million. Opening in 2nd to far less acclaim was the thriller Law Abiding Citizen. Gerard Butler played a man who loses his wife and daughter in a violent attack, and is outraged when the prosecutor (Jamie Foxx) offers the perpetrator a deal in exchange for testimony against his partner. Ten years later, bodies start piling up as it becomes clear that Butler intends to take his revenge against the whole system. Critics found the whole thing preposterous, but it did decent business, earning $21 million opening weekend and ultimately grossing $73.4 million. After Paranormal Activity (climbing one spot after adding more theaters) and last week's champ Couples Retreat (falling to 4th) was the weekend's third opener, a remake of the 1987 thriller The Stepfather. The original starred Terry O'Quinn, who didn't really get his due until Lost nearly 20 years later. The remake replaces him with Dylan Walsh, who is considerably less chilling as the psycho who plans on murdering his new family if they don't live up to his expectations. Gossip Girl's Penn Badgley is the prospective stepson who is justifiably suspicious of stepdaddy dearest. Critics predictably hated the film, and audiences largely gave it a pass, as it opened to $11.6 million and topped out at $29.1 million.
Fifteen Years Ago--October 15, 2004: America couldn't get enough of its family-friendly mobster comedy but with fish, as Shark Tale threepeated in the top spot. Coming in second for the second weekend in a row was the more respectable Friday Night Lights. Opening in third with plenty of montages was Team America: World Police. A hard-R, almost NC-17 puppet action musical satire, the comedy from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone concerned an actor who joins a top secret paramilitary organization determined to stop the terrorists at all costs--and if that means killing countless civilians or destroying priceless landmarks even more thoroughly than the terrorists ever could, so be it. The team has its biggest challenge yet when they have to stop North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il from destroying the world with the unwitting help of easily duped Hollywood actors. Critics mostly liked it, though the general consensus was that it was a step down from the team's last movie, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut. South Park fans turned out, but there wasn't much of a wider audience for a hard-R puppet action musical satire. Team America opened to $12.1 million and would end its run with $32.8 million. Opening in fourth was Shall We Dance, a remake of a 1996 Japanese hit. Richard Gere played a lawyer whose life is in a rut, at least until he decides to sign up for ballroom dancing lessons after becoming enamored with dance instructor Jennifer Lopez. Susan Sarandon (whose puppet form came to a gory end in Team America) plays Gere's wife, who becomes suspicious about his new evening activity. Despite the strong cast (which includes Stanley Tucci, Bobby Cannavale, and Richard Jenkins in supporting roles), critics generally didn't like the film. Audience response was muted at first, as it opened to $11.8 million, but it became a word-of-mouth hit, ultimately grossing $57.9 million. Opening in limited release was the comedy Being Julia. Adapted from a W. Somerset Maugham play, American actress Annette Bening plays Julia, a British theater star who is bored with her life and career, until she starts an affair with a young American (British actor Shaun Evans). After he reveals himself to be a shallow gold digger, she plots her revenge. Jeremy Irons and Michael Gambon co-starred. Critics loved Bening's performance but were more muted on the rest of the movie. The film would gross $7.8 million and Bening would receive her third Oscar nomination.
Twenty Years Ago--October 15, 1999: I'm going to break the first rule of Fight Club to talk about Fight Club, David Fincher's savage, deeply dark comedy about a yuppie schlub (Edward Norton) who grows tired of his consumerist life and befriends rebellious soapmaker Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), and they set up an underground organization of similarly dissatisfied men looking to feel something by pummeling the shit out of each other. As time goes on, and Tyler begins an affair with Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), Norton begins to realize there's more to Tyler's plans--and Tyler's identity--that he initially realized. Critics were somewhat befuddled by the movie, giving wildly mixed reactions, while the film itself ended up being far more talked about then seen the fall of 1999. It didn't help that one of its possible selling points, its wild twist at the climax, was somewhat muted by the fact that the equally twisty The Sixth Sense was still in the Top 10. Fight Club would open at #1 to $11 million, but would have to wait until home video to become the cult hit it was seemingly always destined to be, as it got knocked out at $37 million. After three weeks on top, Double Jeopardy slipped to second, with The Story of Us debuting in third. The Rob Reiner-directed dramady starred Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer as an unhappily married couple looking back on the few highs and many lows of their relationship. Critics by and large hated it, and even with Willis coming off the aforementioned Sixth Sense, audiences largely stayed away, as it opened to $9.7 million and would gross only $27.1 million. Opening in 10th was The Omega Code, which took the then revolutionary step of casting familiar, if not exactly A-list, actors in a Christian-themed film. Casper Van Dien, only two years after Starship Troopers, starred as an author who stumbled onto a plot to unite the world's governments, paving the way for the return of Satan. Michael York, only months after Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, played the chairman of the New World Order, whose body is eventually taken over by Satan himself. The few critics who did review this found the whole thing bewildering and ridiculous, but Christian audiences, happy for a thriller that climaxed with an actual deus ex machina, turned out. Omega Code opened to $2.4 million and boasted that weekend's best per-screen average in the Top 10, and would go on to gross $12.6 million and jump start an entire industry built around mainstreamish movies of faith. In limited release, David Lynch, whose films had almost always been rated R--and a hard R at that--went completely the opposite direction, as The Straight Story was both G-rated and produced by Disney. The film told the true story of Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth, who would receive an Oscar nomination for this, his final role), who, upon learning his brother (Harry Dean Stanton) was sick, decides to go visit him by driving across the state of Iowa on his riding lawnmower. Along the way, he meets a number of people who inspire him or are inspired by him. Critics loved the film, and it did good art-house business, grossing $6.2 million.
Twenty-Five Years Ago--October 21, 1994: Pulp Fiction repeated at #1, as the critical acclaim and word of mouth kept it from falling more than 10% from its opening numbers. The Specialist finished second. Opening rather dismally in third was Love Affair, a long-gestating passion project for Warren Beatty. This remake of 1939's Love Affair, with Irene Dunn and Charles Boyer, and its more famous 1957 remake An Affair to Remember, with Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant, cast real-life husband and wife Beatty and Annette Bening as strangers who meet when their transpacific flight is diverted to a tropical island for mechanical reasons. Falling in love with each other, they agree to meet at the Empire State Building in three months, only to have tragedy prevent their rendezvous. Katharine Hepburn made her final film appearance as Beatty's aunt, who got to end her legendary career by dropping her first on-screen F-bomb. Critics dropped a few F-bombs themselves as they mostly panned the film, and audiences, despite being primed by the near-fetishization of An Affair to Remember the previous year in Sleepless in Seattle, largely ignored the film, as it opened to $5.4 million and finished its run with $18.3 million. After Little Giants and The River Wild in 4th and 5th, the sci-fi thriller The Puppet Masters opened in 6th. Eric Thal, Julie Warner, and Donald Sutherland play government agents sent to investigate, and then fight, an invasion of alien slugs who can attach on a person and control their mind. Even though the novel it was based on pre-dated Invasion of the Body Snatchers (whose 1978 remake also starred Sutherland), critics unfavorably compared the film to both the original and remake, and even the second, somewhat poorly received remake from a year earlier. Audiences read the reviews and mostly stayed away, as it opened to $4.1 million and ended with $8.7 million. Opening in limited release was Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway. The 1920s set comedy starred John Cusack as a playwright who finally gets a work produced on Broadway, but it comes with the stipulation that the mistress (Jennifer Tilly) of the mobster producer gets cast in a major role. Of course, she's utterly terrible. Meanwhile, Cusack begins an affair with the show's flamboyant leading lady (Dianne Wiest). Critics gave the film arguably Allen's best reviews of the 90s, but it was still a surprise that it picked up 7 Oscar nominations, including acting nods for Tilly, Chazz Palminteri (as the mobster who is assigned to mind Tilly, and who turns out to be a much better writer than Cusack), for the screenplay, and for Allen's direction. Wiest would win her second Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Oddly, despite 7 nominations, it wasn't nominated for Best Picture, losing out on that to Four Weddings and a Funeral, which only got one additional nomination. Bullets would end up being Allen's highest-grossing movie of the decade, taking in $13.4 million.
Thirty Years Ago--October 20, 1989: Look Who's Talking spent his second weekend at #1, dominating by finishing over $10 million ahead of newcomer Next of Kin. The revenge thriller starred Patrick Swayze as a Chicago cop originally from the Appalachian backwoods, whose younger brother (Bill Paxton) gets murdered by a mobster, which leads his other brother (Liam Neeson) coming to town to get revenge. Helen Hunt and Ben Stiller also appear in before-they-were-stars supporting roles. Swayze had had a minor hit earlier that year with Road House, but Next of Kin was largely ignored, as it opened to $4.8 million and ended its run with $15.9 million. Sea of Love and Black Rain came in 3rd and 4th, while Gross Anatomy opened in 5th. The medical school comedy starred Matthew Modine as a brilliant but rebellious student who falls for his super-serious lab partner (Daphne Zuniga) while running afoul of a strict professor (Christine Lahti) who thinks his wacky ways have no place in medicine. Both critics and audiences found the film predictable, as it opened to $2.8 million and would gross $11.6 million. Opening in tenth is the historical drama Fat Man and Little Boy. Clearly intended as Oscar bait, the film starred Paul Newman as Leslie Groves, the military head of the Manhattan Project and Dwight Schultz as Robert Oppenheimer, the head scientist. Directed by Roland Joffe, Fat Man opened to largely negative reviews and little business, as it earned $1.5 million its opening weekend and would go on to earn $3.6 million.
Thirty-Five Years Ago--October 19, 1984: During a very slow weekend, Teachers spent its third weekend in the top slot, despite grossing less than $4 million, and Places in the Heart spent its second weekend as the runner-up. Opening in third was Thief of Hearts, a thriller about a house robber (Steven Bauer) who becomes infatuated with the owner (Barbara Williams) of one of the homes he robbed, and, using her detailed diaries, meets and begins an affair with her. The film, produced by the team of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer in between the much more successful Flashdance and Beverly Hills Cop, did feature early appearances from David Caruso, Christine Ebersole, and George Wendt. Thief pulled in $3.1 million that first weekend and ultimately stole away with $10.4 million. In fourth was another newcomer, the George Roy Hill-directed The Little Drummer Girl. Based on the novel by John Le Carre, the thriller starred Diane Keaton as an American actress who is more or less forced to become an Israeli spy to flush out a Palestinian bomber. Given that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was (and still is) a recurring major story, not too many people wanted to see a movie about it, even with Keaton in the leading role. It would open to $2.6 million and run out of time with $7.8 million. After All of Me in 5th, came Steve Martin's former SNL (and future Little Shop of Horrors) co-star Bill Murray in The Razor's Edge. A change of pace for Murray, this dramatic adaption of the W. Somerset Maugham cast him as a World War I vet who, realizing that the small town life he had planned no longer appealed to him, moves first to Paris and then India in order to find fulfillment. Both critics and audiences quickly decided they preferred funny Bill Murray to sad Bill Murray, as it opened to $2.4 million, or less than a million more than Ghostbusters, then in its 20th weekend, pulled in. The film would ultimately gross $6.6 million, or slightly more than what Ghostbusters earned during weekend #9. Opening at #11 was Crimes of Passion, the weekend's third flop starring a big star in a change of pace role. The star here is Kathleen Turner, who played a fashion designer by day and high-priced call girl by night. Bruce Davidson played a surveillance expert who discovers her secret and begins a relationship with her, while Anthony Perkins plays another regular client, a preacher who becomes more and more obsessed with her. Director Ken Russell had to make multiple cuts to the film to secure an R rating, but it ultimately opened to $1.1 million and would top out at $2.9 million.
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