Sorry this is a week late. I will try to post this weekend's Flashback by Monday.
Labor Day weekend is the one three-day weekend of the year where few, if any major movies are released. Instead, it's mostly used for dumps and re-releases.
* are for the gross over the entire 4-day long weekend, instead of just the Friday-Sunday portion.
One Year Ago--August 30, 2019:
#1 Movie:
Angel Has Fallen--$11.8 million
New Limited Releases:
Don't Let Go--$5.2 million/140/42%/49--Nothing really went wide over Labor Day weekend, leaving this thriller, which owes a big debt to the 2000 drama Frequency, as the weekend's biggest opening. David Oyelowo starred as a homicide detective mourning the recent murders of his brother (Brian Tyree Henry) and his niece (Storm Reid) when he somehow gets a phone call from her made several weeks before. Together, they try to alter history and save her life. Mykelti Williamson played Oyelowo's partner and Alfred Molina played his boss.
Director: Jacob Estes
Saaho--$2.9 million/168/8%/NA--Bollywood can churn out very expensive, very bad movies just as well as Hollywood can. Case in point is this thriller, the second-most expensive Indian film ever made. Concerning a master thief and a struggle for control of a criminal empire, critics liked the action setpieces but found the story to be boring and confusing. It did only so-so business in the US, but was profitable in India.
Director: Sujeeth
Tod@s Caen--$2.7 million/170/57%/NA--While the Mexican film industry isn't as large as India's, it is still surprising that more Bollywood movies make money in the US than Mexican movies, given that Mexico has a much larger expat population than India has. Still, a couple of Mexican movies usually break out in US theaters every year, and since the runaway success of Instructions Not Included in 2013, Labor Day has become a popular weekend for a Mexican movie to go at least semi-wide. This Mexican romcom, whose plot sounds like a blend of Hitch, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and The Ugly Truth, has Martha Higareda and Omar Chaparro play competing love gurus who each have a list of rules for their clients on how to land that special someone. When they cross paths, they decide to try their own techniques on the other. You can probably already tell where this one ends up. While this didn't do as well as previous Mexican films released on this weekend, it still did reasonable business for a foreign language film.
Director: Ariel Winograd
Ne Zha--$3.7 million/158/88%/54--Like Mexican movies, Chinese movies tend to underperform in the US, compared to Indian movies. Only a very small number of Chinese films are able to break out in any way in this market. This animated tale, based on a Chinese myth, is one of the few to have a successful enough American release to make this survey, even though its North American gross pales in comparison to how it did back home. Telling the story of a young demon who is fated to destroy the world, but isn't eager to do so, it was one of the biggest hits of the year last year in China. A sequel was set for Chinese release earlier this year, but has been indefinitely postponed because of the pandemic.
Director: Jiaozi
Expanding:
The Peanut Butter Falcon--12/$3 million
Five Years Ago--August 28, 2015:
#1 Movie:
Straight Outta Compton--$13.1 million
New Wide Releases:
War Room--2/$11.4 million/$67.8 million/45/32%/26--Christian filmmaker Alex Kendrick who, for better or worse, is one of the most financially successful directors in this particular genre, tapped into the greatly undeserved African-American Christian market with this drama, as a woman (Priscilla Shirer) whose marriage is crumbling, decides to turn it all over to God through prayer. I'll let you guess whether God saves their marriage. Quality aside, this proved to be an out-of-nowhere sleeper, and ended up having one of the best multipliers off of the opening weekend of the year.
Director: Alex Kendrick
No Escape--4/$8.1 million/$27.3 million/88/47%/38--Owen Wilson and Lake Bell arrive with their daughters to a Southeast Asian country just as it's taken over by bloodthirsty rebels who start killing foreigners, and, well pretty much everyone else indiscriminately. Luckily, they have Pierce Bronson to help guide them to the border, as they're being relentlessly pursued by the natives. While some critics liked the action sequences and the performances, pretty much everyone condemned the film's xenophobia.
Director: John Erick Dowele
We Are Your Friends--14/$1.8 million/$3.6 million/160/38%/46--Neither critics or audiences turned out to be friends with this drama, which starred Zac Efron as a struggling wannabe EDM DJ in Southern California. Wes Bentley played his mentor.
Director: Max Joseph
Ten Years Ago--August 27, 2010:
New Wide Releases:
Takers--1/$20.5 million/$57.7 million/60/28%/45--Nine months after Armored, a thriller starring Matt Dillion about a gang of thieves plotting a heist of an armored truck, came this thriller starring Matt Dillion about a gang of thieves plotting a heist of an armored truck. Dillon, who played the mastermind in the previous movie, this time played the cop trying to take down the gang, which included Idris Elba, Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen, and for some reason Chris Brown. This one significantly outperformed Armored, despite getting worse reviews, as it collected more money its opening weekend than the earlier film did in its entire run.
Director: John Luessenhop
The Last Exorcism--2/$20.4 million/$41 million/77/72%/63--In this found footage horror flick, which got much better reviews than a late August horror release would be reasonably expected to earn, a former pastor (Patrick Fabian) who performs fake exorcisms, is called to an isolated farm to try to drive a demon out of a teenage girl (Ashley Bell). Of course, this time, the possessed might not be faking. This featured an early appearance by Caleb Landry Jones, as Bell's brother. Despite the title, it was followed by a sequel.
Director: Daniel Stamm
New Limited Releases:
Avatar: Special Edition--$10.7 million/130/82%/83--Given that the then-highest-grossing film of all time had just finished its initial theatrical run only weeks earlier, giving the film a re-release seemed a tad premature. But here it was anyway, with 8 extra minutes that had been edited out of the original theatrical cut. Somehow, despite already being widely available on DVD and Blu-Ray, the producers were able to wring nearly $11 million more out of the film.
Director: James Cameron
Fifteen Years Ago--September 2, 2005:
New Wide Releases:
Transporter 2--1/$16.5 million/$43.1 million/67/52%/56--The first Transporter did so-so business in 2002, but was a big hit on the home viewing market, which convinced writer/producer Luc Besson to mount a sequel. Given that this nearly doubled the first film's gross domestically (and more than doubled it internationally), that proved to be a good idea. Jason Statham played the title character, who instead of transporting illegal items, no questions asked, is serving as the bodyguard/chauffeur of the son of a US government official (Matthew Modine), which proves lucky when a Colombian drug cartel targets the family for elimination. Critics found the whole thing utterly preposterous, but quite a few of them liked it anyway. It would be followed by a third film starring Statham in 2008, and then a TV series in 2012 and a reboot movie in 2015, neither of which featured him.
Director: Louis Leterrier
The Constant Gardener--3/$8.6 million/$33.6 million/80/83%/82--Usually, when an Oscar-bait movie is released over Labor Day, that's a sign that it's a failed Oscar-bait movie. But The Constant Gardener, based on a novel by John le Carre, actually got 4 nominations and Rachel Weisz won Supporting Actress for her performance as an Amnesty International activist whose murder drives the film's plot. Ralph Finnes played her husband, a diplomat in Kenya, determined to figure out who is responsible and recreates her research. Danny Huston and Bill Nighy play British officials, and Pete Postlethwaite played a doctor. In addition to Weisz, the film was nominated for Adapted Screenplay, Editing, and Score.
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Underclassman--11/$2.7 million/$5.7 million/161/6%/19--Nick Cannon was still enough of a name in 2005 to land his own vehicle, though after this, none of his other starring roles got theatrical releases. He played a rookie LA cop who goes undercover as a student at a prestigious prep school to investigate a murder. Shawn Ashmore (who is actually older than Cannon) played the school's star basketball player, future Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville played the school's headmaster, and Cheech Marin played Cannon's captian.
Director: Marcos Siega
Twenty Years Ago--September 1, 2000:
#1 Movie:
Bring It On--$11.5 million
New Wide Releases:
Highlander: Endgame--3/$5.1 million/$12.8 million/125/11%/21--Not even devoted fans of the Highlander franchise could make heads or tails of the continuity of the film series, where every new film seemed to completely ignore the events of the previous film. This one continued that proud tradition by following the continuity of the spin-off TV series, with immortal Adrian Paul teaming up with fellow immortal Christopher Lambert (the star of the first three theatrical films) to defeat a powerful immortal out for revenge (Bruce Payne). Also in the proud tradition of the franchise, the studio recut the film against the filmmakers' wishes and the filmmakers would eventually release their own version. This would be Lambert's final appearance in the series, though Paul would reprise his role for yet another sequel in 2007, though that one did not get a theatrical release.
Director: Douglas Aarniokoski
Whipped--10/$2.2 million/$4.2 million/159/13%/10--Amanda Peet is a talented comic actress, which is why its a shame that one of the very few films that she headlined was this poorly received comedy where three misogynistic friends discover that she's dating all of them simultaneously. Hijinks ensure. Critics were appalled, and audiences largely ignored it.
Director: Peter M. Cohen
Twenty-Five Years Ago--September 1, 1995:
#1 Movie:
Mortal Kombat--$4.1 million
New Wide Releases:
The Prophecy--3/$3.8 million/$16.1 million/92/43%/44--Christopher Walken has always had, let's say eccentric, taste in the projects he chooses to make, and this supernatural thriller would be right up his alley. His presence also probably contributed to a much better cast than a film like this really deserved (including two other Pulp Fiction veterans). Walken played the archangel Gabriel, who wants to use the soul of a recently deceased veteran to win a war between angels. Elias Koteas played a former seminarian-turned-cop who has to stop Walken. Virginia Madison played a teacher on a Native American reservation who gets caught up in the battle, Eric Stoltz is another angel, Viggo Mortensen is a representative of the other side, and Adam Goldberg and Amanda Plummer are reluctant human helpers. While not doing well in theaters, this did become a cult hit, leading to four straight-to-video sequels, the first two of which starred Walken.
Director: Gregory Widen
Expanding:
The Usual Suspects--8/$1.9 million
Thirty Years Ago--August 31, 1990:
#1 Movie:
Ghost--$10 million*
New Limited Releases:
The Lemon Sisters--$3.5 million/136/14%/NA--What keeps this comedy-drama, about three lifelong friends (Diane Keaton, Carol Kane, Kathryn Grody) who perform together in Atlantic City while navigating the highs and lows of life, from being an outright ripoff of Beaches was the fact this was in production before that film opened in late 1988. It then sat on the shelf for two years before getting dumped over Labor Day. Critical reaction suggests the film could have sat a bit longer. Elliott Gould, Aidan Quinn, and Estelle Parsons show up in supporting roles.
Director: Joyce Chopra
Thirty Five Years Ago--August 30, 1985:
#1 Movie:
Back to the Future--$7.2 million
New Wide Releases:
American Ninja--4/$3.2 million*/$10.5 million/81/0%/20--With Cannon Films patron saint Chuck Norris off doing other projects, the studio turned to the little-known Michael Dudikoff, whose previous biggest roles had been as one of Tom Hanks's friends in Bachelor Party and a supporting role on a quickly cancelled sitcom. He played a soldier who, as the title suggests, is a master ninja, which comes in handy when he has to go up against an entire squad of ninjas working for an evil smuggler. It wasn't a huge hit, but it did decently enough to lead to four sequels, the first three of which got limited theatrical showings before heading off to the increasingly lucrative home video market. It also led to Dudikoff having a very successful career starring in numerous low-budget action flicks.
Director: Sam Firstenberg
Compromising Positions--6/$3 million*/$12.5 million/68/56%/65--In this comedy-mystery, Susan Sarandon played a former journalist-turned-bored housewife who decides to investigate when a local dentist (Joe Mantegna) is murdered. It turns out that the not-so-good doctor had been having affairs with numerous female patients, all of whom might be suspects, along with their jealous husbands. Raul Julia played the lead detective on the case, who finds himself competing with Sarandon to solve the murder. Edward Herrmann played Sarandon's husband, and Judith Ivey, Mary Beth Hurt, and, in her film debut, Joan Allen played potential suspects.
Director: Frank Perry
Gremlins--8/$2.4 million*/$4.9 million/116/84%/70--Despite ending up as the 4th-highest-grossing film of 1984, Gremlins spent pretty much that entire summer playing second fiddle to Ghostbusters, which opened the same day. So, I don't think it's a coincidence that, one week after Ghostbusters came back to theaters, Gremlins did the same. While this re-release didn't do much to add to the impressive haul from the year before, it did allow Gremlins to finally make more money over the course of a weekend than Ghostbusters (which finished 9th) did.
Director: Joe Dante
Forty Years Ago--August 29, 1980:
New Wide Releases:
My Bodyguard--$22.5 million/30/84%/67--A year after co-starring in Meatballs, teenage actor Chris Makepeace had another summer sleeper hit with this comedy-drama where he played a kid bullied by a gang led by Matt Dillon who befriends fellow student Adam Baldwin, who is rumored to have committed several murders. Of course, Baldwin turns out to be a gentle giant, and the two of them try to stop Dillon's bullying. In addition to being the film debut of Baldwin, it also marked the first films of Joan Cusack, as another student, and Jennifer Beals, who was uncredited. Among the adults, Martin Mull played Makepeace's father, Ruth Gordon as his grandmother, John Houseman as Mull's boss, future Lemon Sisters co-star (and, I should mention, at the time, the brand-new Mrs. Mandy Patinkin) Kathryn Grody as a teacher, a pre-Cheers George Wendt as an employee of Mull's, and future Stargate/Independence Day writer and producer Dean Devlin as another student. This also marked the directorial debut of actor/producer Tony Bill.
Director: Tony Bill
New Limited Releases:
The Great Santini--$4.7 million/63 (in 1979)/95%/64--Having no clue what they had, Warner Bros. and Orion basically dumped this adaption of Pat Conroy's autobiographical novel into various mid-sized markets in the fall of 1979, to little business. Unfortunately, by the time the studio figured out that this drama, starring Robert Duvall as a stern fighter pilot, Blythe Danner as his submissive wife, and Michael O'Keefe as his bullied son, was one of the better films of the year and gave it a belated release in big cities (including Los Angeles, which made it eligible for the Oscars for the films of 1980), the film's HBO release had already been scheduled. Still, Duvall (for Actor) and O'Keefe (for Supporting Actor) were both Oscar nominated.
Director: Lewis John Carlino
No Nukes--NA/NA/NA/NA--In September 1979, a group of artists associated with Musicians United for Safe Energy, an anti-nuclear power collective, put on a series of concerts at Madison Square Garden. A year later, this concert film showcasing some of the highlights of the concerts came out. Among the acts featured were James Taylor, Carley Simon, Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Jackson Browne, The Doobie Brothers, and Bruce Springsteen. Contemporary reviews are hard to come by, but given that, with that lineup, the film has largely fallen into obscurity might be telling about its quality.
Director: Danny Goldberg, Anthony Potenza, and Julian Schlossberg
Prom Night--$14.8 million/49/50%/45--Jamie Lee Curtis's second horror film of the year (after The Fog) is this slasher flick in which the standard-issue masked stalker is targeting various teenagers at the titular dance, perhaps in revenge for a death a few years earlier. Leslie Nielsen played Curtis's father, the school principal. This one received mixed reviews, but did well enough at the box office, and even though its modern reputation isn't as strong as The Fog's, it is still well-remembered. It would be followed by three in-name-only sequels, and a 2008 remake.
Director: Paul Lynch
Expanding:
Middle Age Crazy
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