#1 Movie:
Captain Marvel--$68 million
New Wide Releases:
Wonder Park--2/$15.9 million/$45.2 million/61/34%/45--This underwhelming animated feature, one of the few studio films ever released with no credited director, was about a young girl who discovers that her imagined drawings of a magical amusement park have come to life, as have the animal mascots she designed for it. But even in her magical fantasy world, things are not right. This one features the usual cast of famous-but-not-too-famous names that populate the cast of second-tier animated projects, and Paramount seemed to have written it off even before it was released. Despite the film's poor reception, the spin-off TV series is still set to air on Nickelodeon starting in May.
Director: None credited (Dylan Brown, uncredited)
Five Feet Apart--3/$13.2 million/$45.7 million/60/54%/53--And the award for the most relevant movie title of 2019 in 2020 goes to this romantic drama, clearly inspired by The Fault in Our Stars, as two teenagers with cystic fibrosis (Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse) fall in love despite being forced to practice social distancing from each other at all times, as the risk of cross-contamination from each other was too great for them to get closer. Surprisingly not based on a YA novel, this became a sleeper hit.
Director: Justin Baodoni
No Manches Frida 2--6/$3.8 million/$9.3 million/123/13%/NA--Proving that cliches know no borders, this Mexican comedy, whose original became a surprise success in the American market, follows a former petty thief-turned-teacher who enters his class of delinquents into a inter-school academic competition being held at a beachside resort, so he can prove to his estranged fiancee that he is indeed responsible. Of course, the coach of the rival team just happens to be her ex-boyfriend. I'd say I'm amazed there hasn't been an American remake yet, but then again, there are probably several dozen English-language movies with very similar plots. The film may not have been good, but like its predecessor, it did excellent business for a subtitled film.
Director: Nacho G. Velilla
Captive State--7/$3.1 million/$5.6 million/134/43%/54--Most alien invasion flicks are about the actual invasion, but this one took place 10 years into the occupation of Earth by a conquering species, as two brothers attempt to lead a resistance, staying one step ahead of a human collaborator (John Goodman). Vera Farmiga played a prostitute who may or may not know more than she lets on. The idea wasn't bad, but the execution was a disappointment, and this film was one of the lowest-grossing wide releases of 2019.
Director: Rupert Wyatt
March 22, 2019:
New Wide Releases:
Us--1/$71.1 million/$175.1 million/12/93%/81--In Jordan Peele's creepy follow-up to Get Out, a family (led by Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke) is confronted by their own doubles, who seem eager to enact revenge. Elisabeth Moss played a family friend who has her own encounter with a double. Critics and audiences responded strongly to the film, even if didn't get the year-end critical support that Get Out did (Nyong'o's performance was the only aspect of the film that got serious Oscar consideration, and she ended up not being nominated). With a budget of only $20 million, this ended up being one of the most profitable films of the year as well.
Director: Jordan Peele
New Limited Releases:
Hotel Mumbai--$9.7 million/121/76%/62--A dramatization of part of the attack on Mumbai in 2008, when a group of Pakistani terrorists attacked several prominent hotels and gathering places in the Indian city, this film focused primarily on the events at the 5-star Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The cast included Dev Patel as a waiter in the hotel's restaurant, and Jason Issacs and Armie Hammer as trapped guests. Like many dramatizations of recent tragic events, this film didn't attract a large audience.
Director: Anthony Maras
Expanding:
Gloria Bell--8/$1.7 million
Five Years Ago--March 13, 2015
New Wide Releases:
Cinderella--1/$67.8 million/$201.2 million/9/84%/67--Over the previous two decades, Disney had had success with live-action versions of The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, and Alice in Wonderland, as well as Maleficent, a re-imagined version of Sleeping Beauty. However, with the exception of Dalmatians, none were close remakes of their animated counterparts, and Dalmatians, which came out in 1996, was basically a one-off for nearly two decades. Therefore, we can probably trace the true beginnings of Disney's obsession with remaking their animated catalog with actors and actresses and lots of realistic-looking CGI to this, a live-action version of the fairy tale that hones quite closely to the studio's 1950 animated release. Lily James played the title role, with Cate Blanchett as her wicked stepmother and Helena Bonham Carter, who knows a thing or two about playing magical women, as the Fairy Godmother.
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Run All Night--2/$11 million/$26.5 million/91/58%/59--Yet another entry in Liam Neeson's Particular Set of Skills movies, most of which came out during the first three months of the year. In this one, Neeson is a retired gangster whose estranged son witnesses a murder committed by the son of his best friend (Ed Harris). That forces Neeson to chose between helping his family or helping his "family". By this point, the formula was more or less down pat, and only a couple months after Taken 3, audiences weren't eager to run all night or all day to see his latest.
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
New Limited Releases:
It Follows--$14.7 million/112/96%/83--In this highly acclaimed horror movie, a college student (Maika Monroe) has sex with her new boyfriend, only to discover that the encounter has cursed her. She begins being stalked by an entity that only she can see, who is trying to kill her. Buoyed by the excellent reviews, the movie did well on the art house circuit, though it didn't really catch on when it arrived in more mainstream theaters.
Director: David Robert Mitchell
March 20, 2015:
New Wide Releases:
Insurgent--1/$52.3 million/$130.2 million/23/28%/42--Even though it was now clear that the Divergent franchise would not be the new Hunger Games, the box office didn't collapse with Part 2 (that would happen a year later, with the third installment). Continuing the story of the rebellious Tris (Shailene Woodley) as she attempts to evade capture by Kate Winslet, as an evil faction leader. The film attracted a good cast, including Octavia Spencer, Janet McTeer, and Naomi Watts, all of whom probably landed good paychecks for their roles.
Director: Robert Schwentke
The Gunman--4/$5 million/$10.7 million/125/17%/39--Sometimes, you just look a cast list in awe, wondering how in the hell did that much talent get into such a disposable-looking movie. Case in point--The Gunman, a low-rent action flick about a retired mercenary (Sean Penn) on the run from his former boss (Mark Rylance), who wants him dead. If those two weren't enough, there's also room in the cast for Idris Elba, Ray Winstone, and Javier Bardem. None of those big names were enough to get anyone into the theater, or to get critics to give the film their stamp of approval.
Director: Pierre Morel
Do You Believe?--6/$3.6 million/$13 million/116/25%/22--In the spring of 2014, Son of God, God's Not Dead, and Heaven is For Real combined to gross over $200 million domestic. Throw in Noah, which was a decidedly secular take on the Biblical story, but still attracted a lot of Christian moviegoers, and the total rises to $300 million. Unfortunately, the follow-ups in the next year, both big (Exodus: Gods and Kings) and small (Mom's Night Out, The Identical) all were pretty much left behind by moviegoers (as was Left Behind). The trend of disappointing Christian films continued with Do You Believe?, essentially a Christian Crash, which a number of people, played by relatively well-known actors like Sean Astin, Delroy Lindo, Lee Majors, Cybil Shepard, and Mira Sorvino, among others, grapple with their faith and what they truly believe through chance and unexpected meetings. Opening a couple weeks before Easter, it was able to put together some decent legs, but still finished well below any of the Christian trio from a year earlier.
Director: Jon Gunn
New Limited Releases:
Danny Collins--$5.6 million/147/77%/58--Despite the excellent cast and solid reviews, this dramedy about an aging rock star (Al Pacino) trying to reconnect with his long estranged son (Bobby Cannavale) was largely overlooked at the box office. Jennifer Garner played Cannavale's wife, Annette Bening plays the manager of the hotel that Pacino sets up shop at, and Christopher Plummer played his manager. Pacino did pick up a surprise Golden Globe nomination for the film, but otherwise, this one was forgotten relatively quickly.
Director: Dan Fogelman
Fifteen Years Ago--March 12, 2010:
#1 Movie:
Alice in Wonderland--$62.7 million
New Wide Releases:
Green Zone--2/$14.3 million/$35.1 million/85/53%/63--With the notable exception of American Sniper (still 5 years in the future at this point), movies about the Iraq War have pretty much all flopped (even The Hurt Locker, which had won Best Picture at the Oscars the previous weekend, ended up as one of the lowest-grossing Best Picture winners ever). The Green Zone was one of the more expensive Iraq movies, and hence, one of the bigger flops of the genre, despite starring Matt Damon and direction by his Bourne director Paul Greengrass. Damon played an army officer searching for weapons of mass destruction, which involves him with an Iraqi general who might know the truth. Greg Kinnear played an American government official who seems less than forthcoming, Amy Ryan played a reporter, and Brendon Gleeson played a CIA agent.
Director: Paul Greengrass
She's Out of My League--3/$9.8 million/$32 million/91/58%/46--In this romcom, Jay Baruchel played a guy who looks like Jay Baruchel, who meets an extremely attractive event planner (Alice Eve) who unexpectedly takes an interest in him. But can a guy who looks like Jay Baruchel keep a woman that's so much hotter? Anyone whose ever watched a sitcom will know the answer to that question.
Director: Jim Field Smith
Remember Me--5/$8.1 million/$19.1 million/118/27%/40--Largely remembered today for the film's final, poorly-received twist, Robert Pattinson's first mainstream starring role outside the Twilight films had him playing a rich kid NYU student with a tragedy in his past who falls for a cop's daughter (Emile de Ravin) with a tragedy in her past. Pierce Bronson and Chris Cooper play their fathers.
Director: Allen Coulter
Our Family Wedding--6/$7.6 million/$20.3 million/115/14%/38--Forest Whitaker is an Oscar-winning actor. Carlos Mencia is a mildy famous comedian with a lousy reputation. That imbalance was not the worst thing of this lame comedy, but it didn't help. Whitaker and Mencia play the fathers of the marrying couple (Lance Gross and America Ferrera) whose constant feuding threatens to disrail the nuptials. Regina King shows up to play a family friend.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa
March 19, 2010:
#1 Movie:
Alice in Wonderland--$34.2 million
New Wide Releases:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid--2/$22.1 million/$64 million/49/53%/56--The hugely popular kids book series came to life with this family comedy that cast then-11-year-old Zachary Gordan as the wimpy kid, navigating the ups and (mostly) downs of middle school. His parents were played by Steve Zahn and Rachael Harris, and a then-largely-unknown Chloe Grace Moretz played a sympathetic older girl. The film would be followed by three sequels.
Director: Thor Freudenthal
The Bounty Hunter--3/$20.7 million/$67.1 million/48/12%/22--Jennifer Aniston was the main attraction of this romantic action comedy, playing a reporter who skips her bond hearing to chase down a lead. Gerard Butler plays her ex-husband, the titular character, who is thrilled at getting to take her down, but of course agrees to help her with her investigation, once they start getting shot at. Aniston and co-star Jason Sudeikis (a member of a pretty good supporting cast, which also included Jeff Garlin, Carol Kane, Cathy Moriarty, and Christine Baranski) clearly hit it off, as they would go on to star in four more movies together.
Director: Andy Tennant
Repo Men--4/$6.1 million/$13.8 million/126/22%/32--It was not a great couple of weekends for Forest Whitaker, though at least in this one, he got to co-start with Jude Law instead of Carlos Mencia. The two of them play the titular characters, who repossess artificial organs bought on credit, for which the recipient has not been paying. When Law himself falls behind on payment of his own artificial heart, he has to go on the run from Whitaker and his old company. Liev Schreiber played the duo's boss. Piggybacking on the title of one of the more beloved cult movies of the 1980s probably didn't help this one's critical reputation.
Director: Miguel Sapochnik
New Limited Releases:
Greenberg--$4.2 million/154/76%/76--Ben Stiller starred in this dramdey as the title character, a former musician drifting though life, who returns to LA to house-sit for his brother. There, he begins a relationship with his brother's assistant (Greta Gerwig), while rekindling old relationships with his former band members. The first collaboration between Gerwig and future romantic partner Noah Baumbach, whose then-wife Jennifer Jason Leigh got story credit and plays a supporting role as Stiller's ex. A young Brie Larson has a small supporting role
Director: Noah Baumbach
Fifteen Years Ago--March 18, 2005:
New Wide Releases:
The Ring Two--1/$35.1 million/$76.2 million/28/20%/44--The first Ring had a fairly definitive ending, but as a successful film, and more importantly, a successful horror film, there would naturally be a sequel. Naomi Watts returned as a survivor of the mysterious videotape that curses anyone who watches it unless they show it to someone else. Despite fulfilling the terms of the curse, she and her son are still haunted by the evil spirit from the tape. Sissy Spacek has an extended cameo as the girl's birth mother.
Director: Hideo Nakata
Ice Princess--4/$6.8 million/$24.4 million/104/52%/55--What a difference a year makes. In the spring of 2004, Michelle Trachtenburg was starring in the hard-R comedy EuroTrip, and a year later, she was the lead in this G-rated Disney comedy. Trachtenburg played a budding young scientist who realizes that figure skating is all about physics, and uses her knowledge to become a champion, but possibly at the expense of her scholarship to Harvard. Joan Cusack played her mother, who wants her to pursue academics, and Kim Cattrall, who has her own history starring in stuff far away from Disney, played her coach who wants her to dedicate herself full-time to skating.
Director: Tim Fywell
March 25, 2005:
New Wide Releases:
Guess Who--1/$20.7 million/$68.9 million/34/42%/49--It's hard to imagine that a movie where a white dad objected to his daughter's African-American boyfriend purely because of his race would go over all that well, unless the dad was portrayed as a villain. But what if the dad and daughter was African-American, and the boyfriend was white? That's comedy gold! At least that's the theory behind Guess Who, a loose remake of the 1967 chestnut Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, where Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn just had to accept that their daughter was in love with Sidney Poitier. In 2005, Ashton Kutcher, admittedly about a thousand steps down from Mr. Poitier, was the boyfriend who has to win over girlfriend Zoe Saldana's dad, played by Bernie Mac. It largely played out like a race-tinged remake of Meet the Parents.
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous--2/$14 million/$48.5 million/59/15%/34--2000's Miss Congeniality, where FBI agent Sandra Bullock goes undercover as a beauty pageant contestant, is still fondly remembered (particularly tomorrow, April 25, that movie's "perfect date"--don't forget your light jacket). The sequel, not so much. Bullock was one of the few cast members from the first film to come back, as her agent is now the "face" of the FBI, going on talk shows. When pageant winner Heather Burns (she of the "perfect date" quote) and MC William Shatner are kidnapped, Bullock goes back undercover with new partner Regina King, with whom she doesn't get along. This one does have an interesting cast, including parts for pre-fame Nick Offerman and Octovia Spencer, and featuring Dolly Parton as herself. What it doesn't have is much in the way of laughs. Like Be Cool and The Ring Two, this was another utterly unnecessary sequel.
Director: John Pasquin
Twenty Years Ago--March 17, 2000:
New Wide Releases:
Erin Brockovich--1/$28.1 million/$125.6 million/13/84%/73--Julia Roberts is Erin Brokovich, a single mother of three who talks her way into a job with her personal injury lawyer (Albert Finney), and uncovers proof that giant power company Pacific Gas & Electric (they of the recent California wildfires) has been knowingly dumping dangerous chemicals into the water supply of a small California town. Her persistent investigating as well as the trust she engineers from the townspeople help lead to a record settlement for all involved. Aaron Eckhart played her boyfriend. Despite opening in March, over a year before the 2002 Oscar ceremony, Brockovich still picked up five nominations, including Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor for Finney). Roberts would win Best Actress.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Final Destination--3/$10 million/$53.3 million/49/35%/36--In this horror flick that inexplicably launched an enduring franchise, a group of teens, including Devon Sawa, Ali Later, and Seann William Scott, de-board a plane before takeoff after Sawa gets a premonition of the plane's impending crash. When said crash does happen, the teens find themselves dying anyway, one by one, as Death has determined that they should have gone down with the plane. Instead of simply having them get hit by cars or choke on a chip, it sets up elaborate, Rube Goldberg-type deaths for each victim. The film proved surprisingly popular, which is why there were 4 more of these (with almost none of the original cast) over the next decade.
Director: James Wong
March 24, 2000:
#1 Movie:
Erin Brockovich--$18.6 million
New Wide Releases:
Romeo Must Die--2/$18 million/$56 million/48/32%/52--The first American vehicle for Chinese action star Jet Li was this rather plotty thriller that had Li arriving from Hong Kong to investigate the death of his brother, where he stumbles across a conspiracy involving land rights and his own father. R&B singer Aaliyah made her debut as the daughter of a gang leader (Delroy Lindo) who might be involved in Li's brother's death (she would only make one more movie before her untimely death a year and a half later). Also appearing were Isaiah Washington, Anthony Anderson, and DMX. Critics weren't impressed, but the film's budget was modest, allowing it to turn a nice profit.
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Here on Earth--5/$4.5 million/$10.5 million/131/17%/25--The week's teen flop #1 was this weepy about a love triangle between Chris Klein, Josh Hartnett, and Leelee Sobieski that tragically ends when one of them is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Director: Mark Piznarski
Whatever It Takes--6/$4.1 million/$8.8 million/137/16%/20--Teen flop #2 was this wacky comedy about two teen boys (Shane West and James Franco, in his first major movie role) who help each other land each one's dream girl (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe and Marla Sokoloff). A young Aaron Paul has a supporting role. The lesson here is that if you have a bad movie aimed pretty much only at teenagers, you should probably not release it on the exact same day as another bad movie aimed pretty much only at teenagers.
Director: David Raynr
Twenty-Five Years Ago--March 17, 1995:
#1 Movie:
Outbreak--$10.8 million
New Wide Releases:
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh--2/$6.1 million/$13.9 million/99/29%/NA--In this sequel to the 1992 cult horror film Candyman, we learn the backstory of the titular villain (Tony Todd) as he slaughters his way through New Orleans during Mardi Gras, pursuing his last surviving descendant (Kelly Rowan). This one is primarily notable only for being directed by a relatively young Bill Condon.
Director: Bill Condon
Bye Bye Love--4/$4.5 million/$12.1 million/107/19%/NA--Three divorced men (Matthew Modine, Paul Reiser, Randy Quaid) struggle with being single, being part-time dads, getting along with their ex-wives, and dating in this low-key comedy. Given it had a sitcom plot and featured a sitcom star in one of the lead roles, this one might have been better off simply being a sitcom.
Director: Sam Weisman
Losing Isaiah--5/$2.5 million/$7.6 million/129%/45%/NA--Speaking of TV projects, this one apparently was intended to be one, before it ended up as a feature film. Halle Berry played a crack addict who gives birth and abandons her baby, who is then adopted by Jessica Lange and David Strathaim. Several years later, a now-clean Berry contests the adoption. This one features a fairly strong supporting cast, including Cuba Gooding, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and Regina Taylor.
Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal
New Limited Releases:
Circle of Friends--$23.4 million/74/78%/70--This romantic comedy marked the film debut of Minnie Driver, who had primarily worked in British TV before this. She played an Irish college student in the 50s who falls for a handsome rugby player (Chris O'Donnell). Complications ensue, as Driver's family would prefer her to marry Alan Cumming. Colin Firth co-stars as the wealthy, older suitor of one of Driver's friends.
Director: Pat O'Connor
Farinelli--$1.6 million/192/58%/NA--A biopic of the 19th century singer Carlo Broschi, whose stage name was Farinelli, who was arguably the greatest castrato singer ever. Despite the great liberties taken with Broschi's life (of which relatively little is definitively known), the film was a critical hit in its native Belgium, enough so that it was a nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.
Director: Gerard Corbiau
March 24, 1995:
#1 Movie:
Outbreak--$8 million
New Wide Releases:
Major Payne--2/$7 million/$29.4 million/61/33%/34--In this very familiar-sounding comedy (that somehow took 7 people to write), Damon Waynes starred as the title character, a recently discharged Marine who takes a job training misfit ROTC cadets at a boarding school. Will his military training leave him completely unprepared to handle a bunch of wacky kids? Will he eventually win them over? Will they eventually come together as a group to win or at least be competitive in the big contest that all such movies have at the end? Do you really need to see the film to know what all of these answers are?
Director: Nick Castle
Dolores Claiborne--3/$5.7 million/$24.4 million/68/84%/62--Kathy Bates returns to the Stephen King well with this well-received adaption of his novel about a woman who is arrested for murdering her rich employer 20 years after being widely suspected of murdering her husband (David Strathairn). Jennifer Jason Leigh played her daughter, who isn't sure if her mother is guilty or not. Christopher Plummer played the local prosecutor, and John C. Reilly played a local cop. Though not nearly as acclaimed as Misery, the film was a critical success, and its reputation has grown over time.
Director: Taylor Hackford
Tall Tale--5/$3.1 million/$8.3 million/124/50%/NA--This Disney release dramatized some classic American legends involving cowboy Pecos Bill (Patrick Swayze), giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan (Oliver Platt) and railroad builder John Henry (Roger Aaron Brown), as they come together to help a teenage boy (Nick Stahl) save his family farm from a ruthless land baron. Catherine O'Hara cameos as Calamity Jane (who, unlike the other characters, actually existed, but oh well). Audiences were pretty uninterested, as it made less money its opening weekend than its month-old stablemate Man of the House.
Director: Jeremiah Chechik
Expanding:
Muriel's Wedding--8/$2.6 million
30 Years Ago--March 16, 1990:
#1 Movie:
The Hunt for Red October--$11.1 million
New Wide Releases:
Lord of the Flies--3/$4.4 million/$14 million/85/63%/49--This adaption of William Golding's 10th-grade staple updates its setting to the then-present day, makes the stranded schoolboys American, and scatters in some profanity. It also, according to critics, made the film a much more stark good vs. bad parable than the book does. Of the various young teens and tweens in the cast, Balthazar Getty and James Badge Dale have gone on to have the most prominent careers.
Director: Harry Hook
Blue Steel--5/$2.9 million/$8.2 million/106/74%/54--This stylish but preposterous thriller, an early directorial effort by Kathryn Bigelow, stars Jamie Lee Curtis as a rookie cop who is suspended for killing an unarmed suspect (Tom Sizemore) holding up a store. What she doesn't know is that her new boyfriend Ron Silver stole the suspect's gun at the scene and has been going on his own murder spree. Louise Fletcher played her mother and Richard Jenkins played Silver's lawyer. The film was largely dismissed in 1990, but its reputation has grown over the years.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Lambada--8/$2 million/$4.3 million/129/NA/NA--Ahh, the early 90s, where a short-lived dance craze in 1989 could inspire two films about said craze, released on the exact same day to widespread audience indifference. Indeed, the fact they both were released on the same day is probably the only reason they're now remembered at all. Lambada was the slightly more successful one, in that it made the Top 10 for a weekend, which is more than competitor The Forbidden Dance can say. The plot involved a dedicated teacher by day, dedicated dancer by night, who also tutored the teens by night. Melora Hardin, who played a student, managed to survive this.
Director: Joel Silberg
New Limited Releases:
Nuns on the Run--$11 million/96/45%/NA--In this agreeably silly comedy, Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane play thieves wanting to escape their lives of crime and start over in Brazil. When their last heist goes wrong, they hide out in a nearby convent, donning habits and claiming to be transfer nuns. Hijinks ensure.
Director: Jonathan Lynn
March 23, 1990:
New Wide Releases:
Pretty Woman--1/$11.3 million/$178.4 million/4/63%/51--Richard Gere was coming off a string of flops. Julia Roberts was an up-and-comer who had scored an Oscar nomination for Steel Magnolias, but had never starred in a movie before. Box office prognosticators of 1990 would be forgiven for not thinking much of the prospects of this romcom, in which Gere plays a businessman in town who hires hooker Roberts for a night, and then the week. What started as a business transaction...well, you've seen the movie, or at least can guess the ending. Roberts would become a superstar after this, and Gere became a bankable leading man again. Jason Alexander, a few weeks before Seinfeld's proper premiere, played Gere's sleazy partner, Ralph Bellamy, in his final role, played the owner of the business Gere was in town to take over, and Hector Elizondo played the hotel manager who takes a liking to Roberts. A year later, she would receive her second Oscar nomination, and first for Best Actress.
Director: Garry Marshall
The Fourth War--15/$0.8 million/$1.3 million/177/78%/57--The lowest-grossing wide release of 1990 was this drama about the personal battle between an American soldier (Roy Scheider) and his Soviet counterpart on the border between West Germany and Czechoslovakia border. Given that the real-life Soviet Union was coming apart at the seams about this time, audiences proved profoundly uninterested in a Cold War metaphor.
Director: John Frankenheimer
New Limited Releases:
A Shock to the System--$3.4 million/137/77%/NA--In this very black comedy, Michael Caine played a man in a dead-end job and a loveless marriage who discovers a sense of empowerment after he accidentally kills a panhandler and gets away with it. He then starts planning more murders against his enemies, including his wife (Swoosie Kurtz) and his boss (Peter Riegert). Elizabeth McGovern played a potential love interest who becomes an unwitting accomplice.
Director: Jan Egleson
Thirty-Five Years Ago--March 15, 1985:
#1 Movie:
Beverly Hills Cop--$4.6 million
March 22, 1985:
New Wide Releases:
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning--1/$8 million/$21.9 million/41/16%/16--After a weekend with no new releases, we have four new films and a major expansion this weekend. Usually, when franchises release a much-heralded "final" entry, it usually takes several years before the inevitable revival. The Friday the 13th franchise only waited a year after The Final Chapter to say "Kidding!" Taking place 5 years after Jason's supposed death, his killer (played a year earlier by then-12-year-old Corey Feldman--who makes a cameo appearance--and now played by then 24-year old John Shepard) is institutionalized, where his fellow patients start getting slaughtered. Did Jason rise from the grave? Audiences, at least during the first weekend, were eager to find out. Of course, the series would continue for 6 more movies and then an inevitable remake/reboot.
Director: Danny Steinmann
Porky's Revenge--2/$6.2 million/$20.5 million/43/27%/24--The weekend's second unnecessary sequel is the third installment in the sex comedy series, in which the group of 30-year-old high school kids, on the verge of graduation, find themselves being pressured to throw the big basketball game. Filled with the usual mixture of puerile comedy, boobs, and butts. This finished off the series, which somehow has yet to be successfully rebooted/remade, despite numerous efforts to do so.
Director: James Komack
The Last Dragon--4/$5.3 million/$25.8 million/33/58%/NA--This decidedly not-serious martial arts film, produced by Motown impresario Berry Gordy, tells the story of a martial artist in NYC who is in search of the final element that will make him the titular Last Dragon. He gets involved with a rival martial artist, the hostess of a music video show, and a thug and his singer girlfriend. This one is probably best remembered for its song "Rhythm of the Night" which proved to be a bigger hit than the film itself.
Director: Michael Schultz
Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend--5/$4 million/$15 million/56/13%/NA--One of the first releases by Disney's new Touchstone division, set up to produce and release films more mature than the company's usual fare, this adventure starred Sean Young and William Katt as a paleontologist and her husband who discover a family of living brontosauruses living deep in the African jungle. They must protect their discovery from the outside world and from rival scientist Patrick McGoohan. Despite considerable amounts of hype, this one was an instant flop.
Director: B.W.L. Norton
Expanding:
Mask--3/$6.1 million
Forty Years Ago--March 14, 1980:
Just Tell Me What You Want--$2.1 million/102/NA/NA--This romantic comedy featured a rare starring role for comedian Alan King, who played a media bigwig having an affair with one of his producers, Ali MacGraw, in her final leading role. She tries to break away from him, he reacts jealously while trying to outmaneuver a business rival. Future RoboCop Peter Weller played the younger man MacGraw used to make King jealous, and screen legend Myrna Loy gave her final film performance before retiring (though she made a couple of TV appearances).
Director: Sidney Lumet
March 21, 1980:
The Black Marble--$2.5 million/99/40%/NA--Novelist Joseph Wambaugh, whose books are usually serious tales of good and bad cops, switched to comedy with his own adaption of his novel, about an American cop (Paula Prentiss) who is teamed with a Russian immigrant (Robert Foxworth) to solve the disappearance of a wealthy woman's dog, which was dognapped by a groomer (Harry Dean Stanton) deeply in debt.
Director: Harold Becker
Hide in Plain Sight--$3.8 million/91/NA/NA--A passion project for James Caan, who also directed (his only such credit), he played a man who discovers that his children, along with his ex-wife, are now in the witness protection program because his ex married a low-level mobster who chose to testify. As he learns, the feds aren't eager to break the program, even to help someone reunite with his kids.
Director: James Caan
Little Darlings--$34.3 million/20/57%/45--One of two girls coming of age films that spring starring Oscar nominated teenage actresses (the other, Foxes, with Jodie Foster) was still in limited release), this one, the more light-hearted of the duo, starred Tatum O'Neil and Kristy McNichol as two teenager at a summer camp who make a bet as to who will lose their virginity first. Armand Assante played the 30-year-old lead counselor, who O'Neil is interested in, and Matt Dillon, in only his second movie, played the (same-aged) boy from the camp across the lake that McNichol liked. The film received mixed reviews, but proved to be a solid hit, doing considerably better than Foxes.
Director: Ronald F. Maxwell
Little Miss Marker--$6.3 million/79/NA/NA--Despite a sterling cast, this adaption of a Damon Runyon story (which had already been filmed three times previously) fell flat. Walter Matthau played a bookie who finds himself as the reluctant guardian of a six-year-old girl after her father puts her up as collateral (and then commits suicide--this was marketed as a family film). Julie Andrews plays the girlfriend of a rich gangster (Tony Curtis, who had played the Matthau role in one of the previous remakes) who takes a liking to the girl and eventually Matthau himself. Bob Newhart played Matthau's assistant, and Lee Grant and the late Brian Dennehy also co-starred.
Director: Walter Bernstein
The Gunman--4/$5 million/$10.7 million/125/17%/39--Sometimes, you just look a cast list in awe, wondering how in the hell did that much talent get into such a disposable-looking movie. Case in point--The Gunman, a low-rent action flick about a retired mercenary (Sean Penn) on the run from his former boss (Mark Rylance), who wants him dead. If those two weren't enough, there's also room in the cast for Idris Elba, Ray Winstone, and Javier Bardem. None of those big names were enough to get anyone into the theater, or to get critics to give the film their stamp of approval.
Director: Pierre Morel
Do You Believe?--6/$3.6 million/$13 million/116/25%/22--In the spring of 2014, Son of God, God's Not Dead, and Heaven is For Real combined to gross over $200 million domestic. Throw in Noah, which was a decidedly secular take on the Biblical story, but still attracted a lot of Christian moviegoers, and the total rises to $300 million. Unfortunately, the follow-ups in the next year, both big (Exodus: Gods and Kings) and small (Mom's Night Out, The Identical) all were pretty much left behind by moviegoers (as was Left Behind). The trend of disappointing Christian films continued with Do You Believe?, essentially a Christian Crash, which a number of people, played by relatively well-known actors like Sean Astin, Delroy Lindo, Lee Majors, Cybil Shepard, and Mira Sorvino, among others, grapple with their faith and what they truly believe through chance and unexpected meetings. Opening a couple weeks before Easter, it was able to put together some decent legs, but still finished well below any of the Christian trio from a year earlier.
Director: Jon Gunn
New Limited Releases:
Danny Collins--$5.6 million/147/77%/58--Despite the excellent cast and solid reviews, this dramedy about an aging rock star (Al Pacino) trying to reconnect with his long estranged son (Bobby Cannavale) was largely overlooked at the box office. Jennifer Garner played Cannavale's wife, Annette Bening plays the manager of the hotel that Pacino sets up shop at, and Christopher Plummer played his manager. Pacino did pick up a surprise Golden Globe nomination for the film, but otherwise, this one was forgotten relatively quickly.
Director: Dan Fogelman
Fifteen Years Ago--March 12, 2010:
#1 Movie:
Alice in Wonderland--$62.7 million
New Wide Releases:
Green Zone--2/$14.3 million/$35.1 million/85/53%/63--With the notable exception of American Sniper (still 5 years in the future at this point), movies about the Iraq War have pretty much all flopped (even The Hurt Locker, which had won Best Picture at the Oscars the previous weekend, ended up as one of the lowest-grossing Best Picture winners ever). The Green Zone was one of the more expensive Iraq movies, and hence, one of the bigger flops of the genre, despite starring Matt Damon and direction by his Bourne director Paul Greengrass. Damon played an army officer searching for weapons of mass destruction, which involves him with an Iraqi general who might know the truth. Greg Kinnear played an American government official who seems less than forthcoming, Amy Ryan played a reporter, and Brendon Gleeson played a CIA agent.
Director: Paul Greengrass
She's Out of My League--3/$9.8 million/$32 million/91/58%/46--In this romcom, Jay Baruchel played a guy who looks like Jay Baruchel, who meets an extremely attractive event planner (Alice Eve) who unexpectedly takes an interest in him. But can a guy who looks like Jay Baruchel keep a woman that's so much hotter? Anyone whose ever watched a sitcom will know the answer to that question.
Director: Jim Field Smith
Remember Me--5/$8.1 million/$19.1 million/118/27%/40--Largely remembered today for the film's final, poorly-received twist, Robert Pattinson's first mainstream starring role outside the Twilight films had him playing a rich kid NYU student with a tragedy in his past who falls for a cop's daughter (Emile de Ravin) with a tragedy in her past. Pierce Bronson and Chris Cooper play their fathers.
Director: Allen Coulter
Our Family Wedding--6/$7.6 million/$20.3 million/115/14%/38--Forest Whitaker is an Oscar-winning actor. Carlos Mencia is a mildy famous comedian with a lousy reputation. That imbalance was not the worst thing of this lame comedy, but it didn't help. Whitaker and Mencia play the fathers of the marrying couple (Lance Gross and America Ferrera) whose constant feuding threatens to disrail the nuptials. Regina King shows up to play a family friend.
Director: Rick Famuyiwa
March 19, 2010:
#1 Movie:
Alice in Wonderland--$34.2 million
New Wide Releases:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid--2/$22.1 million/$64 million/49/53%/56--The hugely popular kids book series came to life with this family comedy that cast then-11-year-old Zachary Gordan as the wimpy kid, navigating the ups and (mostly) downs of middle school. His parents were played by Steve Zahn and Rachael Harris, and a then-largely-unknown Chloe Grace Moretz played a sympathetic older girl. The film would be followed by three sequels.
Director: Thor Freudenthal
The Bounty Hunter--3/$20.7 million/$67.1 million/48/12%/22--Jennifer Aniston was the main attraction of this romantic action comedy, playing a reporter who skips her bond hearing to chase down a lead. Gerard Butler plays her ex-husband, the titular character, who is thrilled at getting to take her down, but of course agrees to help her with her investigation, once they start getting shot at. Aniston and co-star Jason Sudeikis (a member of a pretty good supporting cast, which also included Jeff Garlin, Carol Kane, Cathy Moriarty, and Christine Baranski) clearly hit it off, as they would go on to star in four more movies together.
Director: Andy Tennant
Repo Men--4/$6.1 million/$13.8 million/126/22%/32--It was not a great couple of weekends for Forest Whitaker, though at least in this one, he got to co-start with Jude Law instead of Carlos Mencia. The two of them play the titular characters, who repossess artificial organs bought on credit, for which the recipient has not been paying. When Law himself falls behind on payment of his own artificial heart, he has to go on the run from Whitaker and his old company. Liev Schreiber played the duo's boss. Piggybacking on the title of one of the more beloved cult movies of the 1980s probably didn't help this one's critical reputation.
Director: Miguel Sapochnik
New Limited Releases:
Greenberg--$4.2 million/154/76%/76--Ben Stiller starred in this dramdey as the title character, a former musician drifting though life, who returns to LA to house-sit for his brother. There, he begins a relationship with his brother's assistant (Greta Gerwig), while rekindling old relationships with his former band members. The first collaboration between Gerwig and future romantic partner Noah Baumbach, whose then-wife Jennifer Jason Leigh got story credit and plays a supporting role as Stiller's ex. A young Brie Larson has a small supporting role
Director: Noah Baumbach
Fifteen Years Ago--March 18, 2005:
New Wide Releases:
The Ring Two--1/$35.1 million/$76.2 million/28/20%/44--The first Ring had a fairly definitive ending, but as a successful film, and more importantly, a successful horror film, there would naturally be a sequel. Naomi Watts returned as a survivor of the mysterious videotape that curses anyone who watches it unless they show it to someone else. Despite fulfilling the terms of the curse, she and her son are still haunted by the evil spirit from the tape. Sissy Spacek has an extended cameo as the girl's birth mother.
Director: Hideo Nakata
Ice Princess--4/$6.8 million/$24.4 million/104/52%/55--What a difference a year makes. In the spring of 2004, Michelle Trachtenburg was starring in the hard-R comedy EuroTrip, and a year later, she was the lead in this G-rated Disney comedy. Trachtenburg played a budding young scientist who realizes that figure skating is all about physics, and uses her knowledge to become a champion, but possibly at the expense of her scholarship to Harvard. Joan Cusack played her mother, who wants her to pursue academics, and Kim Cattrall, who has her own history starring in stuff far away from Disney, played her coach who wants her to dedicate herself full-time to skating.
Director: Tim Fywell
March 25, 2005:
New Wide Releases:
Guess Who--1/$20.7 million/$68.9 million/34/42%/49--It's hard to imagine that a movie where a white dad objected to his daughter's African-American boyfriend purely because of his race would go over all that well, unless the dad was portrayed as a villain. But what if the dad and daughter was African-American, and the boyfriend was white? That's comedy gold! At least that's the theory behind Guess Who, a loose remake of the 1967 chestnut Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, where Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn just had to accept that their daughter was in love with Sidney Poitier. In 2005, Ashton Kutcher, admittedly about a thousand steps down from Mr. Poitier, was the boyfriend who has to win over girlfriend Zoe Saldana's dad, played by Bernie Mac. It largely played out like a race-tinged remake of Meet the Parents.
Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous--2/$14 million/$48.5 million/59/15%/34--2000's Miss Congeniality, where FBI agent Sandra Bullock goes undercover as a beauty pageant contestant, is still fondly remembered (particularly tomorrow, April 25, that movie's "perfect date"--don't forget your light jacket). The sequel, not so much. Bullock was one of the few cast members from the first film to come back, as her agent is now the "face" of the FBI, going on talk shows. When pageant winner Heather Burns (she of the "perfect date" quote) and MC William Shatner are kidnapped, Bullock goes back undercover with new partner Regina King, with whom she doesn't get along. This one does have an interesting cast, including parts for pre-fame Nick Offerman and Octovia Spencer, and featuring Dolly Parton as herself. What it doesn't have is much in the way of laughs. Like Be Cool and The Ring Two, this was another utterly unnecessary sequel.
Director: John Pasquin
Twenty Years Ago--March 17, 2000:
New Wide Releases:
Erin Brockovich--1/$28.1 million/$125.6 million/13/84%/73--Julia Roberts is Erin Brokovich, a single mother of three who talks her way into a job with her personal injury lawyer (Albert Finney), and uncovers proof that giant power company Pacific Gas & Electric (they of the recent California wildfires) has been knowingly dumping dangerous chemicals into the water supply of a small California town. Her persistent investigating as well as the trust she engineers from the townspeople help lead to a record settlement for all involved. Aaron Eckhart played her boyfriend. Despite opening in March, over a year before the 2002 Oscar ceremony, Brockovich still picked up five nominations, including Picture, Director, and Supporting Actor for Finney). Roberts would win Best Actress.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Final Destination--3/$10 million/$53.3 million/49/35%/36--In this horror flick that inexplicably launched an enduring franchise, a group of teens, including Devon Sawa, Ali Later, and Seann William Scott, de-board a plane before takeoff after Sawa gets a premonition of the plane's impending crash. When said crash does happen, the teens find themselves dying anyway, one by one, as Death has determined that they should have gone down with the plane. Instead of simply having them get hit by cars or choke on a chip, it sets up elaborate, Rube Goldberg-type deaths for each victim. The film proved surprisingly popular, which is why there were 4 more of these (with almost none of the original cast) over the next decade.
Director: James Wong
March 24, 2000:
#1 Movie:
Erin Brockovich--$18.6 million
New Wide Releases:
Romeo Must Die--2/$18 million/$56 million/48/32%/52--The first American vehicle for Chinese action star Jet Li was this rather plotty thriller that had Li arriving from Hong Kong to investigate the death of his brother, where he stumbles across a conspiracy involving land rights and his own father. R&B singer Aaliyah made her debut as the daughter of a gang leader (Delroy Lindo) who might be involved in Li's brother's death (she would only make one more movie before her untimely death a year and a half later). Also appearing were Isaiah Washington, Anthony Anderson, and DMX. Critics weren't impressed, but the film's budget was modest, allowing it to turn a nice profit.
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Here on Earth--5/$4.5 million/$10.5 million/131/17%/25--The week's teen flop #1 was this weepy about a love triangle between Chris Klein, Josh Hartnett, and Leelee Sobieski that tragically ends when one of them is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Director: Mark Piznarski
Whatever It Takes--6/$4.1 million/$8.8 million/137/16%/20--Teen flop #2 was this wacky comedy about two teen boys (Shane West and James Franco, in his first major movie role) who help each other land each one's dream girl (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe and Marla Sokoloff). A young Aaron Paul has a supporting role. The lesson here is that if you have a bad movie aimed pretty much only at teenagers, you should probably not release it on the exact same day as another bad movie aimed pretty much only at teenagers.
Director: David Raynr
Twenty-Five Years Ago--March 17, 1995:
#1 Movie:
Outbreak--$10.8 million
New Wide Releases:
Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh--2/$6.1 million/$13.9 million/99/29%/NA--In this sequel to the 1992 cult horror film Candyman, we learn the backstory of the titular villain (Tony Todd) as he slaughters his way through New Orleans during Mardi Gras, pursuing his last surviving descendant (Kelly Rowan). This one is primarily notable only for being directed by a relatively young Bill Condon.
Director: Bill Condon
Bye Bye Love--4/$4.5 million/$12.1 million/107/19%/NA--Three divorced men (Matthew Modine, Paul Reiser, Randy Quaid) struggle with being single, being part-time dads, getting along with their ex-wives, and dating in this low-key comedy. Given it had a sitcom plot and featured a sitcom star in one of the lead roles, this one might have been better off simply being a sitcom.
Director: Sam Weisman
Losing Isaiah--5/$2.5 million/$7.6 million/129%/45%/NA--Speaking of TV projects, this one apparently was intended to be one, before it ended up as a feature film. Halle Berry played a crack addict who gives birth and abandons her baby, who is then adopted by Jessica Lange and David Strathaim. Several years later, a now-clean Berry contests the adoption. This one features a fairly strong supporting cast, including Cuba Gooding, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and Regina Taylor.
Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal
New Limited Releases:
Circle of Friends--$23.4 million/74/78%/70--This romantic comedy marked the film debut of Minnie Driver, who had primarily worked in British TV before this. She played an Irish college student in the 50s who falls for a handsome rugby player (Chris O'Donnell). Complications ensue, as Driver's family would prefer her to marry Alan Cumming. Colin Firth co-stars as the wealthy, older suitor of one of Driver's friends.
Director: Pat O'Connor
Farinelli--$1.6 million/192/58%/NA--A biopic of the 19th century singer Carlo Broschi, whose stage name was Farinelli, who was arguably the greatest castrato singer ever. Despite the great liberties taken with Broschi's life (of which relatively little is definitively known), the film was a critical hit in its native Belgium, enough so that it was a nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.
Director: Gerard Corbiau
March 24, 1995:
#1 Movie:
Outbreak--$8 million
New Wide Releases:
Major Payne--2/$7 million/$29.4 million/61/33%/34--In this very familiar-sounding comedy (that somehow took 7 people to write), Damon Waynes starred as the title character, a recently discharged Marine who takes a job training misfit ROTC cadets at a boarding school. Will his military training leave him completely unprepared to handle a bunch of wacky kids? Will he eventually win them over? Will they eventually come together as a group to win or at least be competitive in the big contest that all such movies have at the end? Do you really need to see the film to know what all of these answers are?
Director: Nick Castle
Dolores Claiborne--3/$5.7 million/$24.4 million/68/84%/62--Kathy Bates returns to the Stephen King well with this well-received adaption of his novel about a woman who is arrested for murdering her rich employer 20 years after being widely suspected of murdering her husband (David Strathairn). Jennifer Jason Leigh played her daughter, who isn't sure if her mother is guilty or not. Christopher Plummer played the local prosecutor, and John C. Reilly played a local cop. Though not nearly as acclaimed as Misery, the film was a critical success, and its reputation has grown over time.
Director: Taylor Hackford
Tall Tale--5/$3.1 million/$8.3 million/124/50%/NA--This Disney release dramatized some classic American legends involving cowboy Pecos Bill (Patrick Swayze), giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan (Oliver Platt) and railroad builder John Henry (Roger Aaron Brown), as they come together to help a teenage boy (Nick Stahl) save his family farm from a ruthless land baron. Catherine O'Hara cameos as Calamity Jane (who, unlike the other characters, actually existed, but oh well). Audiences were pretty uninterested, as it made less money its opening weekend than its month-old stablemate Man of the House.
Director: Jeremiah Chechik
Expanding:
Muriel's Wedding--8/$2.6 million
30 Years Ago--March 16, 1990:
#1 Movie:
The Hunt for Red October--$11.1 million
New Wide Releases:
Lord of the Flies--3/$4.4 million/$14 million/85/63%/49--This adaption of William Golding's 10th-grade staple updates its setting to the then-present day, makes the stranded schoolboys American, and scatters in some profanity. It also, according to critics, made the film a much more stark good vs. bad parable than the book does. Of the various young teens and tweens in the cast, Balthazar Getty and James Badge Dale have gone on to have the most prominent careers.
Director: Harry Hook
Blue Steel--5/$2.9 million/$8.2 million/106/74%/54--This stylish but preposterous thriller, an early directorial effort by Kathryn Bigelow, stars Jamie Lee Curtis as a rookie cop who is suspended for killing an unarmed suspect (Tom Sizemore) holding up a store. What she doesn't know is that her new boyfriend Ron Silver stole the suspect's gun at the scene and has been going on his own murder spree. Louise Fletcher played her mother and Richard Jenkins played Silver's lawyer. The film was largely dismissed in 1990, but its reputation has grown over the years.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Lambada--8/$2 million/$4.3 million/129/NA/NA--Ahh, the early 90s, where a short-lived dance craze in 1989 could inspire two films about said craze, released on the exact same day to widespread audience indifference. Indeed, the fact they both were released on the same day is probably the only reason they're now remembered at all. Lambada was the slightly more successful one, in that it made the Top 10 for a weekend, which is more than competitor The Forbidden Dance can say. The plot involved a dedicated teacher by day, dedicated dancer by night, who also tutored the teens by night. Melora Hardin, who played a student, managed to survive this.
Director: Joel Silberg
New Limited Releases:
Nuns on the Run--$11 million/96/45%/NA--In this agreeably silly comedy, Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane play thieves wanting to escape their lives of crime and start over in Brazil. When their last heist goes wrong, they hide out in a nearby convent, donning habits and claiming to be transfer nuns. Hijinks ensure.
Director: Jonathan Lynn
March 23, 1990:
New Wide Releases:
Pretty Woman--1/$11.3 million/$178.4 million/4/63%/51--Richard Gere was coming off a string of flops. Julia Roberts was an up-and-comer who had scored an Oscar nomination for Steel Magnolias, but had never starred in a movie before. Box office prognosticators of 1990 would be forgiven for not thinking much of the prospects of this romcom, in which Gere plays a businessman in town who hires hooker Roberts for a night, and then the week. What started as a business transaction...well, you've seen the movie, or at least can guess the ending. Roberts would become a superstar after this, and Gere became a bankable leading man again. Jason Alexander, a few weeks before Seinfeld's proper premiere, played Gere's sleazy partner, Ralph Bellamy, in his final role, played the owner of the business Gere was in town to take over, and Hector Elizondo played the hotel manager who takes a liking to Roberts. A year later, she would receive her second Oscar nomination, and first for Best Actress.
Director: Garry Marshall
The Fourth War--15/$0.8 million/$1.3 million/177/78%/57--The lowest-grossing wide release of 1990 was this drama about the personal battle between an American soldier (Roy Scheider) and his Soviet counterpart on the border between West Germany and Czechoslovakia border. Given that the real-life Soviet Union was coming apart at the seams about this time, audiences proved profoundly uninterested in a Cold War metaphor.
Director: John Frankenheimer
New Limited Releases:
A Shock to the System--$3.4 million/137/77%/NA--In this very black comedy, Michael Caine played a man in a dead-end job and a loveless marriage who discovers a sense of empowerment after he accidentally kills a panhandler and gets away with it. He then starts planning more murders against his enemies, including his wife (Swoosie Kurtz) and his boss (Peter Riegert). Elizabeth McGovern played a potential love interest who becomes an unwitting accomplice.
Director: Jan Egleson
Thirty-Five Years Ago--March 15, 1985:
#1 Movie:
Beverly Hills Cop--$4.6 million
March 22, 1985:
New Wide Releases:
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning--1/$8 million/$21.9 million/41/16%/16--After a weekend with no new releases, we have four new films and a major expansion this weekend. Usually, when franchises release a much-heralded "final" entry, it usually takes several years before the inevitable revival. The Friday the 13th franchise only waited a year after The Final Chapter to say "Kidding!" Taking place 5 years after Jason's supposed death, his killer (played a year earlier by then-12-year-old Corey Feldman--who makes a cameo appearance--and now played by then 24-year old John Shepard) is institutionalized, where his fellow patients start getting slaughtered. Did Jason rise from the grave? Audiences, at least during the first weekend, were eager to find out. Of course, the series would continue for 6 more movies and then an inevitable remake/reboot.
Director: Danny Steinmann
Porky's Revenge--2/$6.2 million/$20.5 million/43/27%/24--The weekend's second unnecessary sequel is the third installment in the sex comedy series, in which the group of 30-year-old high school kids, on the verge of graduation, find themselves being pressured to throw the big basketball game. Filled with the usual mixture of puerile comedy, boobs, and butts. This finished off the series, which somehow has yet to be successfully rebooted/remade, despite numerous efforts to do so.
Director: James Komack
The Last Dragon--4/$5.3 million/$25.8 million/33/58%/NA--This decidedly not-serious martial arts film, produced by Motown impresario Berry Gordy, tells the story of a martial artist in NYC who is in search of the final element that will make him the titular Last Dragon. He gets involved with a rival martial artist, the hostess of a music video show, and a thug and his singer girlfriend. This one is probably best remembered for its song "Rhythm of the Night" which proved to be a bigger hit than the film itself.
Director: Michael Schultz
Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend--5/$4 million/$15 million/56/13%/NA--One of the first releases by Disney's new Touchstone division, set up to produce and release films more mature than the company's usual fare, this adventure starred Sean Young and William Katt as a paleontologist and her husband who discover a family of living brontosauruses living deep in the African jungle. They must protect their discovery from the outside world and from rival scientist Patrick McGoohan. Despite considerable amounts of hype, this one was an instant flop.
Director: B.W.L. Norton
Expanding:
Mask--3/$6.1 million
Forty Years Ago--March 14, 1980:
Just Tell Me What You Want--$2.1 million/102/NA/NA--This romantic comedy featured a rare starring role for comedian Alan King, who played a media bigwig having an affair with one of his producers, Ali MacGraw, in her final leading role. She tries to break away from him, he reacts jealously while trying to outmaneuver a business rival. Future RoboCop Peter Weller played the younger man MacGraw used to make King jealous, and screen legend Myrna Loy gave her final film performance before retiring (though she made a couple of TV appearances).
Director: Sidney Lumet
March 21, 1980:
The Black Marble--$2.5 million/99/40%/NA--Novelist Joseph Wambaugh, whose books are usually serious tales of good and bad cops, switched to comedy with his own adaption of his novel, about an American cop (Paula Prentiss) who is teamed with a Russian immigrant (Robert Foxworth) to solve the disappearance of a wealthy woman's dog, which was dognapped by a groomer (Harry Dean Stanton) deeply in debt.
Director: Harold Becker
Hide in Plain Sight--$3.8 million/91/NA/NA--A passion project for James Caan, who also directed (his only such credit), he played a man who discovers that his children, along with his ex-wife, are now in the witness protection program because his ex married a low-level mobster who chose to testify. As he learns, the feds aren't eager to break the program, even to help someone reunite with his kids.
Director: James Caan
Little Darlings--$34.3 million/20/57%/45--One of two girls coming of age films that spring starring Oscar nominated teenage actresses (the other, Foxes, with Jodie Foster) was still in limited release), this one, the more light-hearted of the duo, starred Tatum O'Neil and Kristy McNichol as two teenager at a summer camp who make a bet as to who will lose their virginity first. Armand Assante played the 30-year-old lead counselor, who O'Neil is interested in, and Matt Dillon, in only his second movie, played the (same-aged) boy from the camp across the lake that McNichol liked. The film received mixed reviews, but proved to be a solid hit, doing considerably better than Foxes.
Director: Ronald F. Maxwell
Little Miss Marker--$6.3 million/79/NA/NA--Despite a sterling cast, this adaption of a Damon Runyon story (which had already been filmed three times previously) fell flat. Walter Matthau played a bookie who finds himself as the reluctant guardian of a six-year-old girl after her father puts her up as collateral (and then commits suicide--this was marketed as a family film). Julie Andrews plays the girlfriend of a rich gangster (Tony Curtis, who had played the Matthau role in one of the previous remakes) who takes a liking to the girl and eventually Matthau himself. Bob Newhart played Matthau's assistant, and Lee Grant and the late Brian Dennehy also co-starred.
Director: Walter Bernstein
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