Since around the turn of the century, the first weekend of May marked the beginning of the summer movie season, which means that a giant blockbuster--usually one of the highest-grossing films of the year--would open on that Friday. Beforehand, though, summer movies didn't start rolling out until mid or even late May, meaning that the first weekend of the month still saw spring movies--often dreck that the studios were cleaning off their shelves ahead of the blockbusters.
One Year Ago--May 1, 2020:
#1 Movie:
Trolls World Tour
New Theatrical Releases:
The Wretched--$1.8 million/59/75%/61--In this indie horror flick, a teenage boy (John-Paul Howard) comes to realize that his next-door neighbor (Zarah Mahler) is possessed by a witch who is feeding on the local children. As Trolls World Tour wasn't reporting grosses, this is the official highest-earning new movie of the lockdown era, with only a July re-release of The Empire Strikes Back outgrossing it. It got surprisingly solid reviews, and is likely to end up a cult hit.
Director: The Pierce Brothers (Brett and Drew)
New Streaming Releases:
Bull--90%/65--A wayward teenage girl (Amber Havard) comes under the wing of her neighbor, a gruff professional bull rider (Rob Morgan), and realizes she wants to become a bull rider herself. This indie drama earned strong reviews.
Director: Annie Silverstein
Deerskin--88%/68--In this oddball French horror-comedy, a slowly unraveling man (Jean Dujardin) spends a small fortune on a deerskin jacket, then travels to a remote mountain town, where, with the help of a local waitress (Adèle Haenel), starts filming the locals by convincing them to give up their jackets. Things get darker from there. This was another solidly reviewed indie film.
Director: Quentin Dupieux
The Half of It--97%/74--This Netflix-produced romcomdram, the latest twist on Cyrano de Bergeric, has smart-but-poor high school student Leah Lewis agreeing to help jock Daniel Diemer woo his crush (Alexxis Lemire), but complications develop when he realizes he likes Lewis better--and she realizes she likes Lemire. This was another critical winner.
Director: Alice Wu
Tammy's Always Dying--75%/55--When a woman (Felicity Huffman) is diagnosed with cancer, her estranged daughter (Anastasia Phillips), who has finally started to break away from her mother and her toxicity, finds herself forced back into her orbit. Lauren Holly co-starred. Critics liked the dark comedy, but found it to be rather bleak.
Director: Amy Jo Johnson
Five Years Ago--April 29, 2016:
#1 Movie:
The Jungle Book--$43.7 million
New Wide Releases:
Keanu--3/$9.5 million/$20.6 million/107/78%/63--Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele make the leap from their successful sketch comedy series to the big screen, in this comedy where the two of them, while searching for Peele's cat, find themselves mixed up with a street gang and a drug cartel. Tiffany Haddish, Method Man, Will Forte, Nia Long, and Luis Guzmán co-starred, with cameos from Anna Faris and Keanu Reeves. Despite decent reviews, audiences didn't turn out, and the film barely doubled its opening weekend gross.
Director: Peter Atencio
Mother's Day--4/$8.4 million/$32.5 million/85/8%/18--The final film of Garry Marshall (who died about three months after this opened) was the third of his all-star, everyone-is-connected, critically savaged holiday trilogy. This time, the cast included Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts, Jason Sudeikis (appearing in his fifth movie with Aniston), Timothy Olyphant, Olyphant's Justified co-star Margo Martindale, Aasif Mandvi, Sarah Chalke, Larry Miller, Jon Lovitz, Britt Robinson, Marshall regular Hector Elizondo, and Jennifer Garner, as well as a voice-over by Marshall's sister Penny Marshall, in her final film. This one managed to have the worst reviews and the lowest grosses of the trilogy.
Director: Garry Marshall
Ratchet & Clank--7/$4.9 million/$8.8 million/142/21%/29--Flop animated video game adaption sends the title characters, a feline-type alien creature (James Arnold Taylor) and a robot (David Kaye), into space to battle an evil alien (Paul Giamatti) who is destroying other planets. Sylvester Stallone, John Goodman, Bella Thorne, and Rosario Dawson also provide voices. With The Jungle Book still dominating the box office, there was no need for this film.
Director: Kevin Munroe and Jericca Cleland
Ten Years Ago--May 6, 2011:
New Wide Releases:
Thor--1/$65.7 million/$181 million/10/77%/57--This fourth entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder, who ends up exiled to Earth without his powers. The film also introduced Tom Hiddleston as Thor's trickster brother Loki, as well as Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Rene Russo (in her first movie since Yours, Mine, and Ours over five years earlier) and Anthony Hopkins, as well as marking the first appearance of Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. Returning from previous MCU outings were Clark Gregg and Samuel L. Jackson. While the film today doesn't have the greatest reputation, it was well-received by critics at the time, though since the MCU wasn't the all-consuming bemouth it is today, it actually opened up below what Fast Five had done the weekend before, even though this was the "official" start of the summer movie season. It, along with July's Captain America: The First Avenger, still made a lot of money, leading to the record-shattering debut of The Avengers in a year. This was directed by Kenneth Branagh, as he moved for the first time from making smaller productions and Shakespeare adaptions to big budget extravaganzas.
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Jumping the Broom--3/$15.2 million/$37.3 million/85/58%/56--The first of two comedies about tumultuous engagements to open this weekend, this one pulled a mild upset by beating the more-hyped Something Borrowed. When rich girl Paula Patton gets engaged to working-class Laz Alonso, there's plenty of culture clash between the two families, particularly between her mother Angela Basset and his mother Loretta Divine. Also starring Mike Epps, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Romeo Miller, Julie Bowen, and the Rev. T.D. Jakes, this got mixed reviews and burned out fairly quickly, but given its small budget, still proved quite profitable.
Director: Salim Akil
Something Borrowed--4/$14 million/$39.1 million/76/15%/36--The other engagement comedy starred Gennifer Goodwin as a woman who drunkenly sleeps with the fiancé (Colin Egglesfield) of her best friend (Kate Hudson). In the aftermath, Goodwin and Egglesfield realize they're attracted to each other, but both have to hide their growing feelings from Hudson. John Krasinski, Steve Howey, and Jill Eikenberry co-starred. While this opened to much worse reviews and smaller box office than Jumping the Broom, it would have the last laugh, as longer legs helped it get a slightly higher final gross. It wasn't enough for a payoff for the ending sequel hook, though.
Director: Luke Greenfield
Fifteen Years Ago--May 5, 2006:
New Wide Releases:
Mission: Impossible III--1/$47.7 million/$134 million/14/71%/66--The summer movie season got off to a somewhat disappointing start with this third entry in Tom Cruise's spy franchise, in which he attempts to capture rogue arms dealer Phillip Seymour Hoffman, while trying to avoid a mole in the agency. Ving Rhames was the only co-star to return from previous entries, with Simon Pegg and Michelle Monaghan making their debuts in the franchise. One-and-doners included Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Maggie Q, Billy Crudup, Keri Russell, the then-unknown Aaron Paul, and Laurence Fishburne. The theatrical directorial debut of J.J. Abrams, this would end up as easily the lowest grosser of the franchise.
Director: J.J. Abrams
An American Haunting--3/$6.4 million/$16.3 million/129/14%/38--Unsuccessfully attempting to counterprogram against Mission: Impossible III was this forgettable horror movie, in which a 19th century settler (Donald Sutherland) becomes convinced that his neighbor (Gaye Brown) has cursed him. Sissy Spacek co-starred.
Director: Courtney Solomon
Hoot--9/$3.4 million/$8.1 million/161/26%/46--An even less successful counterprogramming attempt was this family adventure comedy, in which three teenagers (Logan Lerman, Cody Linley, and Brie Larson) attempt to stop the construction of a chain restaurant on top of an owl nesting site. Among the adults in the cast were Luke Wilson, Tim Blake Nelson, Neil Flynn, Clark Gregg, Robert Wagner, Carl Hiaasen (whose children's novel the film was based on), and Jimmy Buffett. This had the unfortunate distinction of having the worst first weekend of any film opening in more than 3,000 theaters until The Rhythm Section managed to open even worse in January 2020.
Director: Wil Shriner
New Limited Releases:
The Promise--$0.7 million/256/31%/53--In this action romance, a concubine (Cecilia Cheung) finds herself torn between a general (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his slave (Jang Dong-gun) as the three fight an evil warlord (Nicholas Tse). This was a hit in its native China but opened to mostly negative reviews in North America, and made little impact at the art houses.
Director: Kaige Chen
Art School Confidential--$3.3 million/190/36%/54--Director Terry Zwigoff and writer Daniel Clowes, who had scored a big critical and art house hit with Ghost World, reteamed to considerably lesser results in this comedy-drama about a freshman at a prestigious art school (Max Minghella) who finds himself as part of a love triangle with a girl (Sophia Myles), and also becomes suspected of being a serial killer. Zwigoff was able to get a strong cast, including John Malkovich, Anjelica Huston, Jim Broadbent, Ethan Suplee, Adam Scott, Nick Swardson, and an uncredited Steve Buscemi, but the film earned mostly negative reviews and only made a marginal impact at the box office.
Director: Terry Zwigoff
Twenty Years Ago--May 4, 2001:
New Wide Releases:
The Mummy Returns--1/$68.1 million/$202 million/6/47%/48--This sequel to the 1999 smash hit fantasy adventure was an even bigger hit, even though reviews were considerably weaker. Brendan Frasier and Rachel Weisz return, now married with a young son (Freddie Boath) who, thanks to a MacGuffin, eventually find themselves back in Egypt, fighting the once-again-resurrected mummy (Arnold Vosloo) and another ancient villain, The Scorpion King (Dwayne Johnson, billed as The Rock and making his feature film debut). Also returning from the first film are John Hannah, Oded Fehr, and Patricia Velásquez. This would be followed less than a year later by the spin-off The Scorpion King (Johnson's first leading role), and a proper sequel, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, would come in 2008.
Director: Stephen Sommers
Twenty-Five Years Ago--May 3, 1996:
New Wide Releases:
The Craft--1/$6.7 million/$24.8 million/66/57%/55--A new girl at a Catholic high school (Robin Tunney) becomes friends with three outcast girls (Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True), who are rumored to be witches. Tunney, who also has powers, joins their coven, and they use their powers to improve their lives, but things eventually begin to go wrong. Skeet Ulrich (who would co-star with Campbell in an even bigger hit horror movie, Scream, at the end of the year), Christine Taylor, Breckin Meyer, and Cliff de Young co-starred. While not a huge hit at the time, it was profitable, and would become a cult favorite. It would be followed by a many-year-later sequel in 2020.
Director: Andrew Fleming
The Great White Hype--5/$3.4 million/$8 million/136/45%/NA--This satire on the decidedly unethical world of pro boxing stars Samuel L. Jackson as a corrupt fight promoter (based in no way on Don King) who decides that the next opponent the heavyweight champ (Damon Waynas, in his second flop sports comedy of the spring) should face is a white guy, and recruits a former amateur (Peter Berg) who knocked Waynas out years ago. Jeff Goldblum, Corbin Bernsen, Jon Lovitz, Cheech Marin, John Rhys-Davis, and Jamie Foxx co-starred. Critics were mixed-to-negative, and like most boxing movies at the time, this did no business.
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Last Dance--6/$2.7 million/$5.9 million/151/32%/NA--A young lawyer (Rob Morrow) tries to figure out how to save his newest client (Sharon Stone, in her second flop of the spring), who is on death row for two murders she committed as a teenager. Randy Quaid, Peter Gallagher, an uncredited Charles S. Dutton, and Skeet Ulrich, in his second film of the weekend, co-star. The second of three death row dramas to be released between Christmas 1995 and late 1996, this one was unfavorably compared to Dead Man Walking (as would the third film, The Chamber).
Director: Bruce Beresford
The Pallbearer--9/$2.3 million/$5.7 million/146/45%/NA--David Schwimmer became the second Friend in a month and a half to discover the movie star thing wasn't as easy as it looks with this dark romcom, in which he played a 20-something slacker who is drawn into an affair with the mother (Barbara Hershey) of a deceased friend--whom he can't remember--while pining for his high school crush (Gwyneth Paltrow, in her first lead role, and who found the movie star thing much easier than Schwimmer did). Toni Collette, Michael Vartan, Carol Kane, Bitty Schram, and future Friends guest star Michael Rappaport co-starred. Schwimmer could at least take pride in knowing that the reviews and box office were (slightly) better than Matt LeBlanc's Ed. This was the directorial debut of Matt Reeves, who wouldn't direct his second feature film until 2008's Cloverfield.
Director: Matt Reeves
Barb Wire--12/$1.8 million/$3.8 million/162/27%/40--Pamela Anderson's attempt to become a movie star crashed just as spectacularly as David Schwimmer's. She played a mercenary and nightclub owner in a war-torn future America who reluctantly tries to help her former lover (Temuera Morrison) and his new love, a scientist (Victoria Rowell) who the evil government wants to capture, get out of the country. If you're thinking "that's the plot of Casablanca", you're not the first to notice that. Jack Noseworthy, Xander Berkeley, Steve Railsback, and Udo Kier co-starred.
Director: David Hogan
New Limited Releases:
I Shot Andy Warhol--$1.9 million/186/75%/75--This unconventional biopic starred Lili Taylor as feminist writer Valerie Solanas, a hanger-on at The Factory who commits the titular act after she becomes convinced that Warhol (Jared Harris) is attempting to control her. Stephen Dorff, Martha Plimpton, Michael Imperioli, Jill Hennessy, and Justin Theroux co-starred. Taylor's performance was highly acclaimed, and the film did decent art-house business. This was the directorial debut of Mary Harron.
Director: Mary Harron
Thirty Years Ago--May 3, 1991:
#1 Movie:
Oscar--$4.2 million
New Wide Releases:
One Good Cop--2/$3.4 million/$11.3 million/91/15%/NA--Michael Keaton starred in this awkward mix of gritty crime drama and sentimental family drama, playing the titular cop, who, after his widowed partner (Anthony LaPaglia) is killed in the line of duty, takes in his three young daughters (Grace Johnston, Rhea Silver-Smith, Blair Swanson), only to discover to keep the kids permanently, he and his wife (Rene Russo) will need a bigger house, which is beyond their means. Benjamin Bratt, Rachel Ticotin, Kevin Conway, and Vondie Curtis-Hall co-starred. Keaton's star power couldn't overcome the bad reviews.
Director: Heywood Gould
A Rage in Harlem--7/$2.5 million/$10.4 million/94/65%/NA--Character actor Bill Duke made his film directing debut with this darkly comic crime thriller about an undertaker (Forest Whitaker) who finds himself involved with a beautiful woman (Robin Givens) who has arrived in town with a trunk full of gold--which numerous shady characters, including Whitaker's brother (Gregory Hines) want for themselves. Danny Glover, Wendell Pierce, and George Wallace co-starred. This did well with African-American audiences, and had some crossover appeal.
Director: Bill Duke
Rich Girl--14/$0.4 million/$0.6 million/193/NA/NA--By far the lowest grossing film of 1991 to play in at least 1,000 theaters (the second lowest, August's Return to the Blue Lagoon, made five times as much as this), this romantic melodrama starred Jill Schoelen as the titular rich girl, Don Michael Paul as the aspiring rock star that wins her heart, and Paul Gleason as the only other cast member you've heard of. Apparently meant to be a TV movie, this somehow ended up playing in (empty) theaters. However, it cost less than a million to make, so it might have ultimately ended up being profitable.
Director: Joel Bender
New Limited Releases:
Truly Madly Deeply--$1.6 million/154/74%/72--This British romantic dramady marked both the feature film directing debut of Anthony Minghella and the leading man debut of Alan Rickman, who played a recently deceased man who comes back as a ghost, much to the delight of his grieving girlfriend (Juliet Stevenson), but his presence may be preventing her from moving on with her life. Compared (mostly favorably) to Ghost, this did well in American arthouses.
Director: Anthony Minghella
Thirty-Five Years Ago--May 2, 1986:
New Wide Releases:
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling--1/$4.9 million/$18 million/49/50%/NA--In this extremely autobiographical film, Richard Pryor, who also co-wrote and directed (his only directing credit on a narrative film), plays a rich and famous comedian who, while in a coma after setting himself on fire while freebasing cocaine, relives his life and the self-destructive behavior that led him to his current predicament. Debbie Allen, Michael Ironside, and Dennis Farina co-starred. Critics were mixed on the film, and audiences preferred funny Prior to self-reflective Prior, though it did do some business.
Director: Richard Pryor
Blue City--2/$2.8 million/$7 million/91/NA/18--Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy starred in their third--and by far least remembered--film together in 15 months, in this crime thriller in which he returns home after a long absence to investigate the mysterious death of his father, the town mayor, with the help of his old best friend David Caruso and Caruso's sister Sheedy. Paul Winfield, Scott Wilson, Anita Morris, and Tommy Lister, Jr. co-starred. Without the rest of the Brat Pack, there was little interest in seeing Nelson and Sheedy teamed up again, and this quickly came and went.
Director: Michelle Manning
New Limited Releases:
No Retreat, No Surrender--$4.7 million/115/80%/30--This marital arts movie is mainly remembered as having Jean-Claude Van Damme's first major role, playing the Russian nemesis of the film's hero, amateur martial artist Kurt McKinney, who is trained by the ghost of Bruce Lee (Kim Tae Chong). While not a major hit, the film did all right business on the grindhouse circuit, and launched Van Damme's career. It would be followed by two in-name-only sequels.
Director: Corey Yuen
Forty Years Ago--May 1, 1981:
New Wide Releases:
Friday the 13th Part 2--$21.7 million/35/28%/26--For whatever reason, 1980's Friday the 13th broke out from the onslaught of slasher films to become one of the year's biggest hits. The quickie follow-up, arriving slightly less than a year later, was more of the same, with a bunch of new teenage victims getting slaughtered at a camp one by one. This one is notable for being the first film where Jason (Steve Daskewisz) is the primary killer, as revenge for the death of his mother (Betsy Palmer, returning for a cameo) from the first film. First film survivors Adrienne King and Walt Gorney also briefly show up. Opening to predictably bad reviews, this one wasn't nearly as successful as the first one, but still turned a healthy profit. Part III would arrive in August 1982.
Director: Steve Miner
King of the Mountain--$1.8 million/95/NA/48--A young mechanic (Harry Hamlin) spends his night street racing up and down LA's winding Mulholland Drive, until he has to decide between his racing lifestyle and his new girlfriend (Deborah Van Valkenburg). Joseph Bottoms, Dan Haggerty, Seymour Cassel, William Forsythe, and Dennis Hopper co-starred. This got mixed reviews and disappeared from theaters quickly.
Director: Noel Nosseck
New Limited Releases:
Lion of the Desert--NA/NA/71%/NA--This piece of English-language Libyan propaganda, financed by the government of Muammar Gaddafi, starred Anthony Quinn as freedom fighter Omar al-Mukhtar, who successfully fought the occupying fascist Italian army, led by Oliver Reed, to a draw for two decades, despite the Italians' superior technology and training. Quinn's frequent co-star Irene Papas, Rod Steiger, and John Gielgud co-starred. Critics were surprisingly enthusiastic about the film, but audiences didn't feel like paying to see another country's propaganda, no matter how well it was cast or how good the reviews were.
Director: Moustapha Akkad
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