While the summer movie season usually has kicked off before Memorial Day weekend, it has traditionally been one of the biggest moviegoing weekends of the year, which means the new arrivals are usually some of the biggest films of the year.
* Four-day gross (Friday-Monday)
One Year Ago--May 22, 2020:
#1 Movie:
Trolls World Tour (unofficially)/The Wretched (officially)
New Theatrical Releases:
The Trip to Greece--$0.008 million/280/87%/69--The fourth entry in the somewhat fictionalized culinary travelogue comedy series (which, like the prior entries, is edited from a six-part miniseries) sees Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, playing themselves, travel through the titular country, dining at fine restaurants while needling each other, though Coogan (the movie's version, at least) was also worried for his ailing dad back home as well as his seemingly stalled career. Like the three previous installments, this was directed by Michael Winterbottom, making his eighth movie with Coogan.
Director: Michael Winterbottom
New Streaming Releases:
Body Cam--44%/37--The first live-action film for Mary J. Blige (who was also lending her voice to Trolls World Tour) since her Oscar nomination for Mudbound, this horror thriller cast her as a cop realizing that the violent deaths of other cops were caused by some sort of entity. Nat Wolff and Anika Noni Rose co-starred. This ended up being bumped all over the schedule before being dumped onto streaming due to the pandemic.
Director: Malik Vitthal
The Lovebirds--66%/59--Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani play a couple on the verge of breaking up in this action comedy when they get drawn into a conspiracy when someone claiming to be a cop (Paul Sparks) uses their car to run over a bicyclist (Nicholas X. Parsons). Anna Camp and Kyle Bornheimer co-starred. Critics were mixed on the film, which was sold to Netflix shortly after the pandemic closed theaters, negatively comparing it to similar action comedies like Date Night and Game Night.
Director: Michael Showalter
Five Years Ago--May 20, 2016:
New Wide Releases:
The Angry Birds Movie--1/$38.2 million/$107.5 million/26/43%/43--On an island of flightless birds, red bird Red (Jason Sudeikis) has anger issues, which could come in quite handy when the island is invaded by a group of green pigs, led by king Bill Hader, of which Red is the only one who is suspicious of their motives. This one had an impressive voice cast, including Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Ruldolph, Sean Penn (yes, that Sean Penn), Kate McKinnon, Peter Dinklage, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Blake Shelton, Charli XCX, Tituss Burgess, Billy Eichner, Hannibal Burris, Ike Barinholtz, Jillian Bell, Mckenna Grace, and Alex Borstein. Coming well after the game's heyday, the film underperformed with both critics and audiences, though it still made enough to justify a sequel in 2019.
Director: Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising--3/$21.8 million/$55.5 million/60/64%/58--This sequel to the 2014 hit sees a new party-hardy sorority, led by Chloë Grace Moretz, move into the old frat house next door to Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne just as they're trying to sell their house, starting the cycle of pranking all over again. Returning from the first film were Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jerrod Carmichael, Ike Barinholtz, Carla Gallo, Hannibal Buress, and Lisa Kudrow (several of whom also lent their voices to The Angry Birds Movie), and newcomers include Beanie Feldstein, Selena Gomez, Kelsey Grammer, Awkwafina, Billy Eichner, Abbi Jacobson, and Kyle Mooney. Despite decent reviews, audiences were much less enthusiastic toward the sequel, which only did about a third as much business.
The Nice Guys--4/$11.2 million/$36.3 million/79/91%/70--In 1977, two down-on-their-luck private eyes (Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling) reluctantly team up to track down Crowe's missing client (Margaret Qualley), who is involved in the case Gosling is investigating, which involves a dead porn star and a mysterious movie. Matt Bomer, Keith David, Lois Smith, Gil Gerard, Ty Simpkins, Hannibal Buress (going three-for-three with the weekend's new wide releases), and Kim Basinger co-starred, with a silent, uncredited cameo from Robert Downey, Jr., who had starred in director Shane Black's previous films Iron Man 3 (with Simpkins) and the similarly-themed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Despite strong reviews, audiences weren't all that interested in this type of action comedy, and the film underperformed.
Director: Shane Black
New Limited Releases:
Weiner--$1.7 million/214/97%/84--Despite his unfortunate name, New York Congressman Anthony Weiner was a rising star in Democratic politics, married to Huma Abedin, one of Hillary Clinton's right-hand women, when he was felled by a sex scandal involving him sending pictures of him in various states of undress to women. This highly acclaimed documentary chronicled his attempted political comeback in 2013, two years after he resigned from Congress. What at first seemed like a redemption tour quickly turned sour when it emerged he was still sending out naughty pics. It would do well for a documentary on the art-house circuit.
Director: Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg
O.J.: Made in America--NA/NA/100%/NA--This nearly 8-hour documentary (the longest film ever to be nominated for an Oscar) chronicled the life of football star Simpson, from the beginning of his college career at Southern Cal and his days as an NFL superstar, through the murder of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman, for which he was tried and acquitted in one of the most publicized trials in American history, to his 2007 conviction for robbery in Las Vegas, and contrasted it with the growth and the racial tensions in Los Angeles. The film was made for ESPN, but received a limited theatrical release before it premiered on TV. It would win the Documentary Feature Oscar.
Director: Ezra Edelman
Ten Years Ago--May 27, 2011:
New Wide Releases:
The Hangover Part II--1/$86 million/$254.5 million/4/34%/44--The sequel to the smash hit of the summer of 2009 has Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis heading to Bangkok for Helms's wedding, only to once again wake up the night after the bachelor party with no memory of the night before, and with the brother (Mason Lee) of Helm's fiancé (Jamie Chung) missing. Also returning from the first movie were Ken Jeong, Justin Bartha, Mike Tyson, and Jeffrey Tambour, with newcomers to the cast include Nick Cassavetes and Paul Giamatti. Critics complained that it was a virtual remake of the first film, but audiences didn't care, as it ended up grossing almost as much as the original. A third entry in the franchise would arrive in 2013.
Director: Todd Phillips
Kung Fu Panda 2--2/$47.7 million/$165.3 million/15/81%/67--Much better received by critics was the weekend's other sequel, a peacock (Gary Oldman), who, as a result of a prophecy, had slaughtered the panda population years earlier, attempts to launch an invasion of China, only to be confronted by Po, the titular panda (Jack Black) and the other masters (Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogan, Lucy Liu, David Cross, and Jackie Chan). James Hong and Dustin Hoffman return from the first film, and newcomers included Michelle Yeoh, Dennis Haysbert, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Victor Garber, and Danny McBride. The box office was decent, but didn't gross as much as the first entry in 2008. It would be Oscar-nominated for Animated Feature. Another sequel would be released in 2016.
Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
New Limited Releases:
The Tree of Life--$13.3 million/132/84%/85--Terrence Malick directed this semi-autobiographical drama, in which both the birth and death of the universe is depicted amid a story of a middle-aged man (Sean Penn), dissatisfied with his life, who thinks back to his youth and his parents (Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain). Tye Sheridan, Joanna Going, and Fiona Shaw co-star. Arguably Malick's most acclaimed film, it, like most of his work, has proven to be highly polarizing. Nevertheless, it would still receive three Oscar nominations, for Picture, Director for Malick, and Cinematography.
Director: Terrence Malick
Hello Lonesome--NA/NA/73%/58--Low-budget comedy-drama about the difficulties of connecting with others, it followed three seperate storylines, about a man (Harry Chase) trying to re-connect with his daughter, an elderly woman (Lynn Cohen) who has to start accepting rides from a neighbor (James Urbaniak), and a young couple (Nate Smith and Sabrina Lloyd) who are getting to know each other. This got some acclaim on the festival circuit.
Director: Adam Reid
Expanding:
Midnight in Paris--7/$1.9 million
Fifteen Years Ago--May 26, 2006:
New Wide Releases:
X-Men: The Last Stand--1/$102.8 million/$234.4 million/4/57%/58--In this busy third installment, the conclusion of the original trilogy, a mutant "cure" once again divides Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and the X-Men from Magneto (Ian McKellen, also in the weekend's #2 movie, The Da Vinci Code) and his Brotherhood of Mutants. Meanwhile, powerful telepath Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), who seemingly sacrificed herself at the end of X2, returns, though there's something different about her. This would be the final go-around in major roles for much of the franchise's original cast, including Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Shawn Ashmore, and Aaron Stanford, though most would return for cameos in future movies. Newcomers this time around included Kelsey Grammer, Elliot Page (billed as Ellen), Vinnie Jones, Ben Foster, Bill Duke, Eric Dane, Josef Sommer, and Shohreh Aghdashloo. This installment saw a new director in Brett Ratner, replacing Bryan Singer, who had left the franchise to direct Superman Returns. Critics, who had a healthy disregard for Ratner's work, didn't much like it here, either, but audiences flocked. Not counting the later Deadpool movies, this is still the highest domestic grosser of the franchise. After this, however, the focus shifted, first to a stand-alone movie for Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (the one member of the original core cast who would still play a major role in new films going forward) in 2009, followed by the first of the "flashback" movies in 2011. This film's storyline would be partially remade in 2019's Dark Phoenix.
Director: Brett Ratner
New Limited Releases:
An Inconvenient Truth--$24 million/106/93%/75--After the last two summers had given us a rollicking comedy about the stupidity of George W. Bush and a heartwarming look at penguin families, the breakout documentary of the summer of 2006 was this considerably less fun look at the ongoing and upcoming ravages of climate change, presented by former Vice President Al Gore. The film, which mostly consists of a filmed version of a lecture/slide show that he had presented live at various times over the preceding few years, received strong reviews, and even if the box office didn't come close to matching those of Fahrenheit 9/11 and March of the Penguins, it still ended its run as the third-highest grossing documentary of all time. It would win both of the Oscars it was nominated for, Documentary Feature and Original Song for Melissa Etheridge's "I Need to Wake Up". It would be followed in 2017 by the less-seen An Inconvenient Sequel.
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Twenty Years Ago--May 25, 2001:
New Wide Releases:
Pearl Harbor--1/$59.1 million/$198.5 million/7/24%/44--In a film that can best be described as the results when you put three then-recent smashes--Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, and director Michael Bay's own Armageddon--into a blender and press puree, this wartime epic followed two lifelong best friends (Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett) who both fall in love with the same nurse (Kate Beckinsale), when their love triangle gets rudely interrupted by the Japanese attack. Bay recruited a strong cast, including Tom Sizemore, James King, Ewen Bremner, Michael Shannon, Matt Davis, Dan Ackroyd, William Fichtner, Eric Christian Olsen, Jon Voight, Colm Feore, Mako, Alec Baldwin, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Scott Wilson, Peter Firth, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Affleck's future wife Jennifer Garner. Critics were underwhelmed, complaining that the love story was treated as more important than the attack, and while the film was a sizable hit, it was still considered somewhat of a box office disappointment. It would still earn four Oscar nominations, for Sound, Visual Effects, and Original Song for "There You'll Be", and would win for Sound Effects Editing.
Director: Michael Bay
Twenty-Five Years Ago--May 24, 1996:
New Wide Releases:
Mission: Impossible--1/$45.4 million/$181 million/3/66%/59--Who would have thought that, when Tom Cruise signed on for this adaption of the long-running TV series, that it would continue for a quarter century and counting, continuing for more than three times as long as the original show. In this first one, he plays a somewhat naïve secret agent who, after his teammates are killed, is suspected of being a traitor. On the run, he recruits his team's only other survivor (Emmanuelle Béart) and two other disavowed agents (Ving Rhames and Jean Reno) into a complicated plot to clear his name and reveal the real traitor. Vanessa Redgrave, Kristin Scott Thomas, Henry Czerny, Emilio Estevez, and Jon Voight as Jim Phelps co-star. Critics were rather confused by the libertine plot, but audiences, drawn in by Cruise (in the first of his two high-grossing films of 1996), made it one of the biggest hits of the year. There have been five sequels so far, with two more set to arrive in the next two years.
Director: Brian De Palma
Spy Hard--3/$10.5 million*/$27 million/56/8%/25--Apparently strategically released to be counterprogramming to Mission: Impossible, this James Bond spoof casts Leslie Nielsen as a retired secret agent who comes out of retirement to stop a madman (Andy Griffith) from taking over the world. This one wastes a fine cast, including Nicollette Sheridan, Charles Durning, Marcia Gay Hardin, Barry Bostwick, Mason Gamble, and cameos from Ray Charles, Robert Culp, Hulk Hogan, then-first brother Roger Clinton, Robert Guillaume, Pat Morita, Mr. T, Alex Trebek, Taylor Negron, and a theme song from "Weird Al" Yankovic. This was the first credited screenplay of the notorious Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, who would go on to be responsible for some of the worst spoof films ever made.
Director: Rick Friedberg (Jason's father)
New Limited Releases:
Welcome to the Dollhouse--$4.6 million/154/90%/83--Indie director Todd Solondz, whose first film was the little seen Fear, Anxiety, and Depression from 1989, put himself on the map with this pitch black, feel-bad comedy about a wildly unpopular 7th grader (Heather Matarazzo, making her film debut), her fractious family life, and her tentative romance with one of her bullies (Brendan Sexton III). Critics raved about the film, and it became an art-house hit.
Director: Todd Solondz
Thirty Years Ago--May 24, 1991:
New Wide Releases:
Backdraft--1/$12.7 million/$77.9 million/14/75%/38--This firefighting drama starred Kurt Russell as a veteran firefighter, who is taking too many risks, and William Baldwin as his younger brother, who feels stuck in Russell's shadow. Baldwin ends up investigating a series of arsons with veteran inspector Robert De Niro, who suspects they have something to do with corrupt city councilman J.T. Walsh. Donald Sutherland, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Glen, Jason Gedrick, and Rebecca De Mornay co-star, with cameos from David Crosby and director Ron Howard's brother Clint. Critics were impressed by the fire effects, but were dismayed at the cliché-ridden story. Audiences didn't care, as they made it a sizable hit. It would be nominated for three Oscars, for Sound, Sound Effects Editing, and Visual Effects. Baldwin and Sutherland would reprise their roles for a much belated, straight-to-DVD sequel in 2019.
Director: Ron Howard
Hudson Hawk--3/$7.1 million*/$17.2 million/70/33%/17--This overstuffed, bizarre action comedy starred Bruce Willis as a cat burger blackmailed into helping the CIA and a powerful couple (Richard E. Grant and Sandra Bernhard, who was also appearing as herself in Madonna: Truth or Dare) steal various artworks created by Leonardo Di Vinci to recover the pieces of the alchemy machine he created. Hijinks ensue. Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn, David Caruso, Lorraine Toussaint, and, you guessed it, Frank Stallone co-star. Critics were aghast, and audiences failed to turn out, making this arguably the biggest flop of the summer of 1991 and giving Willis his second big-budgeted bomb in a row after The Bonfire of the Vanities.
Director: Michael Lehmann
Thelma & Louise--4/$6.1 million*/$45.4 million/28/85%/88--Unhappily married housewife Geena Davis and best friend waitress Susan Sarandon set out on a weekend fishing trip that takes a disastrous turn when Sarandon kills a would-be rapist (Timothy Carhart). Panicked, the two decide to head to Mexico, where the two find a knack for a life of crime, while a sympathetic police detective (Harvey Keitel) try to convince them to surrender. Michael Madsen (who, along with Keitel, would play far less sympathetic roles a year and a half later in Reservoir Dogs), Christopher McDonald, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Brad Pitt, in his breakthrough role, co-star. A change of pace for director Ridley Scott, the film's feminist message proved quite controversial, but also quite lucrative, as the film received near-unanimous raves and became a surprise hit. The film would receive six Oscar nominations, with Best Actress nods for both Sarandon and Davis, Director for Scott, Cinematography, and Editing, with its Original Screenplay winning.
Director: Ridley Scott
Only the Lonely--5/$6 million*/$21.8 million/61/64%/47--Home Alone was still playing in theaters nationwide when producer John Hughes and director Chris Columbus's next movie, this very different romantic comedy-drama opened. John Candy starred as an unmarried policeman still living at home with his mother (Maureen O'Hara, who came out of a nearly-two decade retirement for the film. This would be her final theatrical release) when he meets and falls for Ally Sheedy, much to O'Hara's chagrin. Kevin Dunn, Milo O'Shea, Jim Belushi, and Anthony Quinn co-star, and Macauley and Kieran Culkin have cameos as Candy's nephews. This got decidedly mixed reviews, and ended up only making a fraction of what Home Alone brought in.
Director: Chris Columbus
Drop Dead Fred--6/$3.6 million*/$13.9 million/87/11%/25--This black comedy starred Phoebe Cates as a divorcing woman forced to move back in with her overbearing mother (Marsha Mason). When she accidently discovers and releases her childhood (not-so) imaginary friend (Rik Mayall), he proceeds to cause chaos, which hampers Cates's chances of reconciling with her husband (Tim Matheson). Ron Eldard, Carrie Fisher, and Bridget Fonda co-star. The film was poorly received by critics, and didn't make much of an impact at the box office, though because of its low budget, it would end up turning a profit. This would be Mayall's only attempt to break into the American film industry, and would be the final studio film for Cates before she retired to raise her children.
Director: Ate de Jong
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken--7/$2.7 million*/$7.3 million/110/73%/NA--Not to be confused with David Lynch's 1990 release Wild at Heart, this G-rated Disney drama (directed by Steve Miner, who had primarily directed horror films before this) starred Gabrielle Anwar as a teenager who, during the Depression, joins a traveling carnival show run by Cliff Robertson, and eventually starts to ride horses off of platforms into a pool of water 40 feet below. Even though the film got decent reviews, audiences largely stayed away.
Director: Steve Miner
New Limited Releases:
Straight Out of Brooklyn--$2.7 million/140/78%/NA--The first of two films from the summer of 1991 about impoverished African-American teenagers made by very young first-time filmmakers, this drama by 19-year-old director Matty Rich (who has only made one other feature film to date) starred Lawrence Gillard, Jr. (billed as Larry Gillard in his film debut) as a teen whose plan to come up with the money to escape their lives of poverty ends in tragedy. Unlike July's Boyz N the Hood, this one ended up not breaking out of art houses, but given its budget of only $77,000, it proved to be quite profitable.
Director: Matty Rich
Hangin' With the Homeboys--$0.5 million/194/93%/NA--Also getting critical attention (though not much in the way of box office receipts) was this comedy-drama about four friends from the Bronx (Doug E. Doug, Mario Joyner, John Leguizamo, and Nestor Serrano) whose night out in Manhattan reveals serious strains in their relationships. Even though the film wasn't a big commercial hit, it would prove to be the breakout roles for Doug and Leguizamo. Director Joseph B. Vasquez would only direct two more little-seen feature films before mental issues ended his career. He would succumb to AIDS in 1995.
Director: Joseph B. Vasquez
Thirty-Five Years Ago--May 23, 1986:
New Wide Releases:
Cobra--1/$12.7 million/$49 million/15/18%/25--In this rather violent, cartoonish thriller, a renegade cop (Sylvester Stallone) has to protect a model (his then-wife Brigitte Nielsen) from a murderous cult who wants her dead. Stallone, who wrote the screenplay, based it both on the novel Fair Game (which nine years later was turned into a vehicle for Cindy Crawford) and ideas from his own rejected rewrite of Beverly Hills Cop, from when he was attached to star. Thanks to Stallone's star power, this had the third-best opening of 1986, but audiences largely disappeared after that.
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Poltergeist II: The Other Side--2/$12.4 million*/$41 million/20/30%/49--After escaping their cursed home, parents Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams and kids Heather O'Rourke and Oliver Robins have moved in with grandmother Geraldine Fitzgerald, only to discover that the entity that haunted them has followed, now in the form of an apocalyptic preacher (Julian Beck) who still wants young O'Rourke. Zelda Rubinstein (returning from the first film) and Will Sampson co-star. Like Cobra, this opened big but faded very fast, as reviewers were underwhelmed. This would be the final film of Beck, who died shortly after filming had wrapped the previous fall. His death, along with those of Dominique Dunne a few months after the first film was released and O'Rourke shortly before the third one opened in 1988, led to a belief that the series was cursed. It would be Oscar nominated for Visual Effects.
Director: Brian Gibson
Expanding:
A Room With a View--9/$0.7 million
Forty Years Ago--May 22, 1981:
New Wide Releases:
Bustin' Loose--$31.3 million/20/60%/55--In this dramady, Richard Pryor is a parolee who agrees to drive Cicely Tyson and her group of special needs children across the country in a dilapidated school bus to her family's farm. The backstory on this one is more interesting than the film itself as Pryor shot it in late 1979, but between shooting Stir Crazy and his fire incident, was unavailable for reshoots until late 1980 and early 1981. While not as big a hit as Stir Crazy, it did solid business.
Director: Oz Scott (reshoots by Michael Schultz)
Death Hunt--NA/NA/17%/40--This poorly received action movie, the first teaming of Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin since The Dirty Dozen in 1967, has Marvin as a Mountie tasked with bringing in Bronson, a fur trapper suspected of being a serial killer. Andrew Stevens, Carl Weathers, Ed Lauter, Maury Chaykin, and Angie Dickinson co-starred. With plenty of other options, audiences largely ignored this one.
Director: Peter R. Hunt
The Four Seasons--$50.4 million/9/77%/55--Alan Alda made his feature film directorial debut with this comedy, which he also wrote, about three close couples (Alda and Carol Burnett, Len Cairou and Sandy Dennis, and Jack Weston and Rita Moreno) and the fallout when Cairou leaves Dennis for the much younger Bess Armstrong. The film proved to be a huge hit, though Alda, who would be committed to M*A*S*H for another two years, wouldn't be in another movie until he directed himself in 1986's Sweet Liberty.
Director: Alan Alda
The Legend of the Lone Ranger--$12.6 million/57/NA/NA--One of 1981's most notorious flops, this starred Klinton Spilsbury, in his feature film debut, as the titular Ranger, who, after being the only survivor of an ambush by Christopher Lloyd (who, at the time, was co-starring on the sitcom Taxi), decides to don a mask and fight for good, with the help of sidekick Michael Horse (also making his film debut). John Bennett Perry, Richard Farnsworth, Tom Laughlin, Merle Haggard, and Jason Robards co-star. There was some controversary when the producers got a court order forcing Clayton Moore, who had played the role in the 1950s TV series, to stop making appearances wearing the mask. There was more controversary when it was revealed that James Keach had dubbed over all of Spilsbury's dialogue. The film not only killed interest in the character for decades (until 2013's The Lone Ranger, also a bomb), but it also killed Spilsbury's career, as he has yet to appear in another movie.
Director: William A. Fraker
Outland--$17.4 million/44/56%/48--Sean Connery plays the head lawman on a mining colony on Io, in this space western. His investigation into a drug ring on the moon quickly brings him in conflict with the corrupt mining foreman (Peter Boyle). Frances Sternhagen, John Ratzenberger (who would go on to play Sternhagen's son on Cheers), James B. Sikking, and Clarke Peters co-star. The thriller got mixed reviews and ended up a box office disappointment, though it would earn an Oscar nomination for Sound.
Director: Peter Hyams
New Limited Releases:
City of Women--NA/NA/68%/NA--Normal guy Marcello Mastroianni suddenly finds himself in a world seemingly populated exclusively by women, some of whom want to help him, some who seem to just want to screw with him (and not in the fun way), and some who want to kill him. Fellini's surrealistic fantasy got respectful reviews (though no one was saying it was one of his masterpieces), but at least at American cinemas, was mostly seen by Fellini aficionados.
Director: Federico Fellini
Expanding:
Lion of the Desert
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