The holiday movie season roles on, though films that open between the first weekend of November and the Friday before Thanksgiving tend to be second-tier blockbusters. Meanwhile, before 1995, early November continued to be a vast wasteland.
One Year Ago--November 8, 2019:
New Wide Releases:
Midway--1/$17.9 million/$56.9 million/50/41%/47--Early November 2019 was full of flops, from the previous week's Terminator: Dark Fate and Motherless Brooklyn to this weekend's lineup. Arguably performing the best was this World War II drama, Roland Emmerich's answer to Dunkirk. Covering the time leading up to, and the actual Battle of Midway in 1942, it had a very masculine cast, including Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Darren Criss, Dennis Quaid, and Woody Harrelson. Mandy Moore, playing the wife of Skrein, got fifth billing, but the next billed female cast member was 25th. While this didn't come close to making back its production costs from its domestic release, it still did better than expected, mostly with the dad and grandfather crowd.
Director: Roland Emmerich
Doctor Sleep--2/$14.1 million/$31.6 million/79/77%/59--An all-grown-up Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor) still has the "shine", and is also afflicted with his father's alcoholism, in this 39-years-later sequel to The Shining. Instead of ghosts, Danny has to battle a cult, led by Rebecca Ferguson, that consumes the psychic essence of others with the shine, and has to help a teenage girl (Kyliegh Curran) survive, in a journey that might just take him back to a familiar place. Jacob Tremblay played a cult victim, Bruce Greenwood played Danny's boss, Henry Thomas played a ghost, and the original Danny, Danny Lloyd, made a short cameo appearance. Despite strong reviews, audiences were decidedly uninterested in going back to the Overlook, as the film made less in 2019 money than The Shining did in 1980 money.
Director: Mike Flanagan
Playing With Fire--3/$12.7 million/$44.5 million/63/22%/24--Despite awful reviews, this family comedy, which has a far better cast than it deserved, proved to be a minor hit. A group of wildfire fighters (including John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, and John Leguizamo) find themselves caring for a teenager (Brianna Hildebrand) and her younger siblings after rescuing them from a burning cabin. Hijinks ensure. Judy Greer played Cena's ex-girlfriend, and Dennis Haysburt played his boss.
Director: Andy Fickman
Last Christmas--4/$11.4 million/$35.2 million/74/47%/50--Emilia Clarke, in one of her first major roles since the end of Game of Thrones, played a bad-tempered Christmas store employee recovering from a severe medical issue who meets cute a charming young man (Henry Golding) who has a secret of his own. It probably didn't help that this romcom's big, controversial twist became public knowledge just as it was entering release, though the record of Christmas movies opening in early November is rather shaky anyway. Emma Thompson, who both co-wrote the script and produced the film, played Clarke's mother, and Michelle Yeoh, who had played Golding's mother in Crazy Rich Asians, here played Clarke's boss. Patti LuPone and Wham! member Andrew Ridgeley also appear.
Director: Paul Feig
New Limited Releases:
Better Days--$1.9 million/186/100%/83--This well-regarded teen drama, a massive hit in its native China, has a storyline that seems like it could be readily adapted for American audiences. A teen girl (Dongyu Zhou), the victim of viscous bullying, seeks the protection of a boy (Jackson Yee) so she can study for college entrance exams in peace. They eventually grow close. Despite the reviews, this didn't get much play beyond the Chinese expat audience.
Director: Kwok Cheung Tsang
Klaus--NA/NA/94%/65--The son of the postmaster general (Jason Schwarzman), who expected to cruise through life with the family money, is horrified when his father forces him to accept a post in the kingdom's most northern, most isolated town, one where half the residents are violently feuding with the other half. There, he meets a woodworker (J.K. Simmons) with a cabin full of toys, and together, they begin delivering them to the town's children. Yep, this Spanish-produced animated feature, picked up for distribution by Netflix, is yet another origin story for Santa Claus, but the bright, hand-drawn animation and clever script help make it a cut above. Rashida Jones voiced the local teacher who Schwarzman takes a liking to, Norm Macdonald as the town's obnoxious ferryman, and Joan Cusack as one of the feuding adults. This would be nominated for Animated Feature at the Oscars.
Director: Sergio Pablos and Carlos Martinez Lopez
Marriage Story--NA/NA/94%/94--Also from Netflix was this semi-autobiographical drama from Noah Baumbach about a couple--a director (Adam Driver) and an actress (Scarlett Johansson) who discover that career pressure and their need to be on the opposite sides of the country from each other breaks their marriage apart. Originally planning on a civil divorce, they quickly discover that the process brings up unexpected emotions and pain. Laura Dern played Johansson's divorce lawyer, Alan Alda and Ray Liotta play Driver's, Julie Hagerty played Johannson's mother, Merritt Wever her sister, and Wallace Shawn as an actor who worked for Driver. The highly acclaimed drama was nominated for six Oscars, including Picture, Lead Actor for Driver, Lead Actress for Johansson, Original Screenplay and Original Score. Dern would win Supporting Actress. Though Netflix, as usual, did not release information about the movie's grosses, independent estimates suggest it took in about $2 million during its limited theatrical release.
Director: Noah Baumbach
Five Years Ago--November 6, 2015:
New Wide Releases:
Spectre--1/$70.4 million/$200.1 million/10/63%/60--The 24th return of James Bond, and 4th go-around for Daniel Craig, sees 007 fighting the titular international criminal organization (returning to the series for the first time since 1971's Diamonds Are Forever), by doing his usual globetrotting, as this installment was filmed in Mexico, Austria, Rome, Morocco, and London. Returning from previous films was Judi Dench as the old M, Ralph Finnes as the new M, Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, and Ben Whishaw as Q. Newcomers included Lea Seydoux as a doctor/Bond Girl, Dave Bautista as a Spectre assassin, Monica Bellucci as a woman with information, and Christoph Waltz as the mysterious head of the organization (the publicity tried to keep his true identity a secret, but most people figured it out well before the film opened). Reviews and word of mouth was considerably less enthusiastic than it had been for Skyfall three years earlier, as this ended up making roughly $100 million less domestically than its immediate predecessor. The film was still the surprise winner for Original Song, for Sam Smith's "Writing's On the Wall"
Director: Sam Mendes
The Peanuts Movie--2/$44.2 million/$130.2 million/24/87%/67--Charlie Brown and company returned to theaters for the first time since 1980's Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (which barely got released), 15 years after the death of series creator Charles Schultz, and for the first time in CGI. Charlie Brown becomes infatuated with his new neighbor, The Little Red-Haired Girl (who, unlike in the comic strips, is fully seen here), and tries to impress her, with disastrous results (he is Charlie Brown, after all). Future Stranger Things star Noah Schnapp voiced Charlie Brown, while Kristen Chenowith played the female dog that Snoopy falls for. Critics generally liked the film, even if they didn't think it was particularly groundbreaking, and it proved to be a moderate box office hit, outgrossing the month's other animated title, The Good Dinosaur.
Director: Steve Martino
New Limited Releases:
Spotlight--$45.1 million/62/97%/93--Director Tom McCarthy bounced back from the disaster of The Cobbler with this docudrama chronicling a group of investigative reporters at the Boston Globe whose digging into the past of one priest accused of child molestation leads to the discovery that dozens have been credibly accused of pedophilia, while the Catholic church kept covering it up. McCarthy attracted a strong cast, including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel McAdams as the journalists, Liev Schreiber and John Slattery as their bosses, and Stanley Tucci and Billy Crudup as attorneys. Buoyed by near-unanimous raves, the film would be a moderate hit and earn six Oscar nominations, including Actor for Schreiber, Supporting Actress for McAdams, Director, and Editing, and winning for Original Screenplay and an unexpected win for Best Picture.
Director: Tom McCarthy
Brooklyn--$38.3 million/70/97%/88--Saoirse Ronan made the transition from child to adult star with this highly acclaimed romantic drama as an Irish immigrant to New York City in the early 50s. Even though she found life in her hometown stifling, she finds herself somewhat lost and homesick in the US, at least until she meets a nice Italian man (Emory Cohen). When tragedy requires her to return home, she has to decide whether to stay and accept the romance of a local (Domhnall Gleeson) or return to her new life. Jim Broadbent played a priest, and Julie Walters as her Brooklyn landlady. Like Spotlight, this became a moderate hit and earned three Oscar nominations, for Picture, Actress for Ronan, and Adapted Screenplay
Director: John Crowley
Trumbo--$7.9 million/134/74%/60--Bryan Cranston, whose movie roles had largely been supporting since his Breaking Bad breakthrough, finally landed a lead in this biopic of the famed screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, whose successful and lucrative career came crashing to a halt thanks to the Blacklist. He was able to scrape by by using pseudonyms and working for bargain basement producers (John Goodman and Stephen Root). Diane Lane played Cranston's wife, Elle Fanning his daughter, Louis C.K. another blacklisted screenwriter, and Helen Mirren as powerful gossip columnist Hedda Hopper. Cranston received an Oscar nomination for Actor.
Director: Jay Roach
Theeb--$0.3 million/304/97%/80--This Jordanian drama starred non-professional teenager Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat as the titular Theeb, a young orphan nomad who, during World War I, tags along with his older brother when he is hired by a British officer to guide him to a certain watering hole. When tragedy strikes, he is forced to team up with a stranger who may be partially responsible for what happened in order to save both of their lives. It would be the first film from Jordan ever to be nominated for Foreign Language Film.
Director: Naji Abu Nowar
Ten Years Ago--November 5, 2010:
New Wide Releases:
Megamind--1/$46 million/$148.4 million/17/72%/63--In this animated superhero spoof, Will Ferrell voices the titular supervillain, who, to his shock, actually defeats his nemesis (Brad Pitt). Finding ruling the city to be dull, he tries to turn an ordinary person (Jonah Hill) into a new superhero to fight, only to discover he's actually created another supervillain. Tina Fey voiced the local reporter forever being kidnapped by Megamind, David Cross voiced Megamind's sidekick, Ben Stiller voiced a museum curator, and J.K. Simmons voiced the local prison warden. This was a moderate hit, but would end up grossing quite a bit less than four other animated releases of 2010.
Director: Tom McGrath
Due Date--2/$32.7 million/$100.5 million/29/40%/51--Todd Phillips's follow-up to the previous year's massive hit The Hangover was this rather disappointing odd couple comedy that owed a huge debt to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. After getting banned from their flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles, straight-laced Robert Downey Jr. and deeply eccentric Zach Galifianakis decide to drive cross-country. Hijinks ensure. Michelle Monaghan played Downey's very pregnant wife, Jamie Foxx played an old friend of Downey's, Danny McBride played a Western Union employee, Keegan-Michael Key played another new father, and director Phillips and Juliette Lewis play a couple the two meet up with (Lewis apparently reprised her role from Phillips's Old School).
Director: Todd Phillips
For Colored Girls--3/$19.5 million/$37.7 million/81/32%/50--Tyler Perry at least temporarily left behind the drag show for this serious adaption of the classic poem cycle For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide. Nine African-American women find their lives intertwined as they deal with heartbreak, loss, men, and each other. Perry recruited a talented cast (including Kimberly Elise, Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Thandie Newton, Anika Noni Rose, Kerry Washington, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, and Whoopi Goldberg), but, at least critically, to no avail, as the film got only slightly better reviews than his normal fare. Meanwhile, after a solid opening, it performed like most Perry movies, with a steep decline as it became the rare film to make more than half its final gross opening weekend.
Director: Tyler Perry
New Limited Releases:
Fair Game--$9.5 million/134/79%/69--Not to be confused with the Cindy Crawford thriller from 15 years earlier, this drama starred Naomi Watts as CIA intelligence officer Valarie Plame, whose employment in the agency is blown by the White House as retribution for her husband (Sean Penn) publicly disagreeing with President Bush about whether Iraq was trying to obtain uranium for use in nuclear weapons. Sam Shepard played Watts's father. Despite being rather timely, the drama received somewhat mixed reviews and was greeted indifferently by moviegoers.
Director: Doug Liman
127 Hours--$18.3 million/119/93%/82--Director Danny Boyle's follow-up to Slumdog Millionaire was another drama based on a true story about hiker Aron Ralston (James Fanco), whose solo hike into Canyonland National Park in southern Utah becomes disastrous when his arm becomes trapped by a falling boulder, and he has to go into extreme survivor mode in order to live through the ordeal. The film received rave reviews and was a modest box office hit. It would earn six Oscar nominations, including Picture, Actor for Franco, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Original Score, and Original Song for "If I Rise".
Director: Danny Boyle
Fifteen Years Ago--November 11, 2005:
#1 Movie:
Chicken Little--$31.7 million
New Wide Releases:
Zathura: A Space Adventure--2/$13.4 million/$29.3 million/93/76%/67--Ten years after Jumanji came this sort-of sequel, also based on a picture book by Chris Van Allsburg about a magical board game. Two bickering young brothers (Josh Hutcherson and Jonah Bobo) and their older sister (Kristen Stewart) find themselves stuck in the world of the titular sci-fi game that the boys discover, sending their house into actual outer space, attracting both a species of evil aliens and a heroic astronaut (Dax Shepard). Tim Robbins played their father. Despite decent reviews, without a star of the caliber of Robin Williams, audiences chose to give this one a pass.
Director: Jon Favreau
Derailed--3/$12.2 million/$36 million/75/21%/40--Notable mainly for being the first film released by the then-brand new Weinstein Company, this thriller starred Clive Owen as a married businessman who begins an affair with the also-married Jennifer Aniston. When they are blackmailed by Vincent Cassel, Owen has to go to increasingly desperate measures to get the money, until he realizes not everything is as it seems. Tom Conti played Owen's boss, David Oyelowo had one of his first roles in a major American movie as a parole officer, rapper Xzibit had a small role as Cassel's accomplice, fellow rapper RZA played Owen's friend, and Giancarlo Esposito played a detective who becomes increasingly suspicious of Owen. Critics were not enamored by Aniston's change-of-pace performance, though the film did show some surprising legs.
Director: Makael Hafstrom
Get Rich or Die Tryin'--4/$12 million/$31 million/91/16%/45--This semi-autobiographical drama based heavily on the life of rap star Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, essentially playing himself, attempted to basically be 8 Mile 2, right down to the acclaimed director one would not normally associate with rap (in this case, Jim Sheridan). Like most sequels, however, this one was a pale imitation of the original, with Jackson as a career drug dealer who, during a stint in prison, decides to leave the criminal life behind to become a rapper. Terrance Howard played Jackson's mentor in prison, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje played the local drug kingpin who was determined to draw Jackson into his orbit, Bill Duke played another drug kingpin, and Viola Davis played Jackson's grandmother.
Director: Jim Sheridan
Pride & Prejudice--10/$2.8 million/$38.4 million/72/86%/82--The latest adaption of arguably Jane Austen's most famous novel didn't quite erase the memories of the blockbuster BBC miniseries from a decade before, but it was able to hold its own. Kiera Knightly played Elizabeth Bennett, whose initial impressions of the haughty Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) eventually become considerably more complicated. Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland played her parents, and Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan, Jena Malone, and Talulah Riley played her sisters, and Judi Dench played Darcy's aunt. A surprise box office success, it would be nominated for four Oscars, Actress for Knightly, Art Direction, Costumes, and Score. This marked the feature film directorial debut of Joe Wright.
Director: Joe Wright
Twenty Years Ago--November 10, 2000:
#1 Movie:
Charlie's Angels--$24.6 million
New Wide Releases:
Little Nicky--2/$16.1 million/$39.5 million/61/22%/38--Since his breakthrough leading role in Billy Madison in 1995, Adam Sandler had seen each subsequent vehicle gross higher than the previous one (the exception being 1996's buddy cop comedy Bulletproof, in which he was an actor-for-hire). That trend came to an abrupt end with this comedy, which probably pushed the boundaries of what Sandler's fanbase would accept past its limit. He plays the title character, the son of Satan (Harvey Keitel) who gets sent to New York to capture his two rebellious brothers (Rhys Ifans and Tony "Tiny" Lister, Jr.), who are attempting to create actual Hell on Earth. With Sandler's last two movies being huge blockbusters, he was able to recruit an impressive cast, including Patricia Arquette as his love interest, Reece Witherspoon as his mother, Rodney Dangerfield as his grandfather, cameos from his Saturday Night Live friends Kevin Nealon, Dana Carvey, Rob Schneider, and Jon Lovitz, as well as Michael McKean, Carl Weathers, and Quentin Tarantino. This ended up making less than a quarter of what Big Daddy had made the summer before.
Director: Steven Brill
Men of Honor--3/$13.3 million/$48.8 million/52/42%/56--Since winning his Oscar for Jerry Maguire, Cuba Gooding, Jr. had had truly terrible luck picking follow-up projects (Chill Factor, anyone?). This bland, Oscar-baity biopic of the first African-American master diver in the U.S. Navy is arguably his best feature film-leading role of his post-Oscar career (a career that, thanks to numerous sexual assault allegations against him, is now probably over). Co-starring is Robert De Niro, who had his own issues picking projects from around this time period onward, as a veteran Navy diver whose racist attitude toward Gooding gives way to respect. Charlize Theron, 32 years De Niro's junior, played his wife, Hal Holbrooke played the deeply racist camp commander whose attitude remained deeply racist, and Michael Rappaport played a fellow diving candidate.
Director: George Tillman, Jr.
Red Planet--5/$8.7 million/$17.5 million/103/14%/34--Spring's Mission to Mars may have underperformed at the box office, but it was a massive blockbuster compared to this, 2000's other Mars movie. Val Kilmer (in what is, to date, his last lead role in a major studio film) and Carrie-Anne Moss lead a team to Mars to discover why the oxygen levels from the terraformed planet have been dropping, only to have to battle an evil robot (yes, seriously). Terrance Stamp, Benjamin Bratt, Simon Baker, and Tom Sizemore played the other members of the crew.
Director: Antony Hoffman
New Limited Releases:
You Can Count on Me--$9.4 million/136/95%/85--Kenneth Lonergan, whose previous filmography had included writing credits on Analyze This, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, and two episodes of the early 90s Nickelodeon cartoon Doug, made a smashing directorial debut with his own screenplay, a family drama about two siblings (Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo, in his breakthrough role) orphaned as children, who have taken rather divergent paths in life, but who reconnect as adults. Matthew Broderick played Linney's new boss, then 11-year-old Rory Culkin played Linney's son, Jon Tenney played Linney's off-again, on-again boyfriend, Gaby Hoffman, 15 years Ruffalo's junior, played his girlfriend, Josh Lucas played Culkin's biological father, and Amy Ryan, in only her second feature film, played Linney and Ruffalo's mother. Despite the widespread acclaim for the film, which included two Oscar nominations, Actress for Linney and Original Screenplay, Lonergan's next film project, the drama Margaret, was famously troubled, getting shelved for years while Lonergan and Fox Searchlight sued each other.
Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Expanding:
Billy Elliot--9/$2.6 million
Twenty-Five Years Ago--November 10, 1995:
New Wide Releases:
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls--1/$37.8 million/$108.4 million/5/25%/45--Jim Carrey, who spent most of his career avoiding sequels, did two of them in 1995, which gave him two of the five biggest hits of the year. This would also be the only film in which he reprised a previous role until Dumb and Dumber To 19 years later. Dropping everyone else from the cast of the previous year's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (as well as that transphobic storyline that was already ridiculously offensive even by 1994 standards), in this one, Ace travels to Africa to find a missing sacred white bat to prevent two tribes from going to war. Sophie Okonedo, in her second feature film, played the princess of one of the tribes, Carrey's In Living Color co-star Tommy Davidson played a warrior for the other tribe, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (here credited as only Adewale), who had made his film debut earlier in the year in Congo, 1995's other "white people mess around with nature in Africa" movie, played a security chief, and Simon Callow played a government official. This has the second-best opening of 1995 (behind only Carrey's other film that year, Batman Forever), but ended up having the worst legs of any of the year's major hits.
Director: Steve Oedekerk
Thirty Years Ago--November 9, 1990:
New Wide Releases:
Child's Play 2--1/$10.7 million/$28.5 million/41/44%/37--Speaking of terrible legs, this sequel to the surprise 1988 horror hit about the possessed doll had some of the worst legs of 1990 (though it did hold up slightly better than Graveyard Shift, which despite being #1 just two weeks earlier, was already completley out of the Top 10). After Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif, who was also in the aforementioned Graveyard Shift) is revived, he once again goes after poor little Alex Vincent (who largely left acting after this), killing off most of the supporting cast in the process. Among the bodies are Jenny Agutter, Grace Zabriskie, and Beth Grant. A third Child's Play would follow less than a year later.
Director: John Lafia
New Limited Releases:
The Krays--$2.1 million/154/81%/70--The lives of the twin British gangsters of the 1960s has proved fascinating to several filmmakers, with this being the first film to focus on them. Played by real-life brothers Gary and Martin Kemp (who were born two years apart), both members of British new wave band Spandau Ballet, the two, loyal only to each other and their doting mother (Billie Whitelaw), become two of the most notorious, and most violent, criminals that London had ever seen. Despite good reviews, the film was not a big hit in North America, and didn't attract awards attention.
Director: Peter Medak
Dances With Wolves--$184.2 million/3/83%/72--Pretty much everyone assumed that the directorial debut of Kevin Costner, who was coming off of the flop Revenge, would be a disaster, since who wanted to see a three-hour western where the Native Americans were the good guys? Most of America, as it turned out. Costner played a Civil War vet whose attempt at suicide on the battlefield ended up winning the battle, so he was given his choice of postings. He picks a remote fort in the Western frontier, which he finds abandoned upon his arrival. He gradually repairs the decrepit fort, while slowly gaining the trust of the nearby Sioux tribe, which includes a white woman (Mary McDonnell) who was raised by the tribe after her family was killed by the rival Pawnee. Native American actor Graham Greene played the tribe's medicine man, and another Native American actor, Wes Studi, played a particularly vicious member of the Pawnee. Maury Chaykin played Costner's commanding officer. In addition to being a box office smash, it would be nominated for 12 Oscars, including Actor for Costner, Supporting Actress for McDonnell, Supporting Actor for Greene, Art Direction, and Costume Design, and would win 7, including, Picture, Director for Costner, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound, Editing, and Score.
Director: Kevin Costner
Expanding:
Reversal of Fortune--5/$2.5 million
Thirty-Five Years Ago--November 8, 1985:
#1 Movie:
Death Wish 3--$3.2 million
New Wide Releases:
Target--2/$2.7 million/$9 million/91/71%/53--One of numerous American films shot in Europe in 1985, this thriller starred Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon as father and son who head to Paris when their wife and mother is kidnapped. While trying to figure out where she is and who is responsible, Dillon learns that his father has quite a few secrets he had never shared, such as a career in the CIA. Josef Sommer played an old contact of Hackman's. Despite decent reviews and Hackman's star power, this was largely ignored by audiences.
Director: Arthur Penn
Transylvania 6-5000--5/$2.5 million/$7.2 million/104/18%/10--Another film that might have benefited from opening before Halloween, this horror comedy (whose title, a pun on an obscure-by-1985 Glenn Miller song, was previously used by a Bugs Bunny cartoon) starred Jeff Goldblum and Ed Begley, Jr. as tabloid reporters sent to Transylvania to bring back proof of Frankenstein's monster. Despite the derision of the locals, they quickly realize that there is something sinister and supernatural going on in the small town. This has a better cast than it probably deserved, including Norman Fell, Joseph Bologna, Carol Kane, Jeffrey Jones, Michael Richards, and Goldblum's future ex-wife, Geena Davis. but lousy reviews and a poor release date doomed this one.
Director: Rudy De Luca
That Was Then...This Is Now--6/$2.5 million/$8.6 million/94/0%/45--The fourth and final adaption of one of pioneer YA novelist S.E. Hinton's books in a four-year period (after Tex, The Outsiders, and Rumble Fish), this starred Emilo Estevez (who had had supporting roles in Tex and The Outsiders) as a teen finding himself increasingly estranged from his best friend and foster brother (Craig Sheffer, in one of his first film roles) after Sheffer gets a girlfriend (future NYPD Blue star Kim Delaney) and Estevez drifts into drug dealing. Morgan Freeman played a pool hall owner who befriended the boys. Despite Estevez's newfound star power after The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire, the film ended up being a box office disappointment. This was Estevez's first produced screenplay.
Director: Christopher Cain
New Limited Releases:
Bring On the Night--$1.9 million/142/NA/NA--By November 1985, Sting had had quite a previous 12 months, playing supporting roles in Dune and Plenty, the lead role in The Bride, participating in the massive charity hit single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and performed during the massive worldwide charity concert Live Aid. He also released his first solo album, and this documentary chronicled the making of it, as well as Sting's personal life. It, along the previous year's 28 Up, marked a return to documentary filmmaking for Michael Apted after a string of Hollywood movies (mostly flops).
Director: Michael Apted
The Official Story--$0.03 million/176/100%/NA--Continuing the run of the year's Foreign Language Oscar nominees reporting North American grosses probably far lower than what they actually earned, this Argentinian drama, produced only months after the fall of the right-wing military junta that had murdered tens of thousands chronicled the growing realization by an upper middle class woman (Norma Aleandro) that her young adopted daughter might have been kidnapped at birth from one of the victims of the junta, and that her own husband might know more about the crimes of the regime than he is letting on. The drama would win the Oscar for Foreign Language Film
Director: Luis Puenzo
Forty Years Ago--November 7, 1980:
New Wide Releases:
Fade to Black--NA/NA/45%/54--Dennis Christopher, who had broken out, so to speak, in 1979's Breaking Away, delivered a very different performance in this horror comedy that, like other November horror movies, would probably have been better off opening before Halloween. He played an obsessive, socially awkward film buff who finally snapped and began taking out his enemies via recreations of famous movie death scenes. While critics admitted the premise was clever, it ended up getting lumped in with the year's many, many other slasher movies. Mickey Rourke had a small role as one of Christopher's victims.
Director: Vernon Zimmerman
New Limited Releases:
Melvin and Howard--$4.3 million/85/91%/NA--In this biopic, Paul LeMat played Melvin, a gas station attendant who gives a ride from Utah to Las Vegas to a mysterious, disheveled stranger (Jason Robards), not realizing that the man is the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. Over the next decade, he attempts to make something of himself, usually by following get-rick-quick schemes that inevitably fall apart, at least until he discovers the recently deceased Hughes's will on his desk. Mary Steenburgen played Melvin's frustrated first wife, Michael J. Pollard played Melvin's friend, Dabney Coleman played a judge, Pamela Reed, in one of his first film appearances, played a woman who took an interest in Melvin, Gloria Grahame, in one of her final film appearances, played another neighbor, and the real Melvin Dummar had a brief cameo. The film got near-unanimous raves, and Robards was nominated for Supporting Actor at the Oscars. It would win two others, Steenburgen for Supporting Actress and for its Original Screenplay.
Director: Jonathan Demme
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