Sterling

So this weekend ended up outgrossing last weekend after all. I don't think anyone would have predicted that.

If we're including animation, The Secret Life of Pets holds this record with its $104 million opening.

This got me curious so I did a bit of research. Seems like it's only happened once before in 1999 with The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project and Sleepy Hollow. Almost had 4 with The Haunting stalling at $91 million.

One more note on Scream 2 - I think it still holds the record for the biggest discrepancy between studio estimates and actuals, dropping from an estimated 39 million to an actual of 32.9 million. Anyone know the story behind this? How could they have gotten it so embarrassingly wrong? Anaconda was another breakout from 1997 that I remember fondly. It spent two weekends at #1 and has an adjusted gross of $127 million; a great result for a creature feature. I think the diverse cast went a long way in helping the movie find an audience.

Not only did it break the record, but it held it for 3 years (!) until What Women Want trumped it in December of 2000. A slasher movie holding a monthly record for 3 years is almost impossible to fathom. Scream 3 also broke the February record in 2000 and held it until Hannibal in 2001. So from February through December 2000, the Scream franchise held two monthly records simultaneously. Goes to show how massive the brand was during that time.

Looking forward to the Scream write-up! It was the first horror movie I can remember seeing and the one I credit with turning me into a horror fan. I had just turned six when it came out in theaters and I wasn't allowed to see R-rated movies at the time. When it finally came to Blockbuster, I distinctly remember devising a plan to put the Scream VHS inside the rental box of a kids movie and hoping the clerk wouldn't notice at checkout. To my surprise it worked; the teenager at the counter didn't even bother opening the case! I made it home and ran to my room to start watching, still in disbelief that I had actually gotten away with it. I was hooked from the opening minute and watched with a mix of terror and excitement as the events unfolded on screen. My eyes were glued to the TV and I didn't notice my mom walk into the room before it was too late. In a serious case of unfortunate timing, she walked in right as Ghostface stabbed Drew Barrymore for the first time. Needless to say she made me turn it off and return it to Blockbuster that night. I wouldn't get to see the whole thing until years later. The fact that I only got to see that opening tease when I was six elevated Scream to this kind of mythical status in my childhood. Those 10 minutes I saw were so good that I could only imagine what the rest of the movie had in store. I can't remember how old I was when I finally saw it in its entirety, but the long wait in-between made the viewing experience that much more sweet.

Channing Tatum in 2012 with The Vow, 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike.

Thought I would use my first post to say how much I've enjoyed following this series. Excellent work @baumer and I look forward to the upcoming entries! I wish I would have been old enough to follow the Jurassic Park phenomenon as it unfolded. Truly an all time great box office run. As far as 1992 is concerned, I think it's worth mentioning the performance of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. I was shocked to discover that it adjusts to $187 million and was number 1 for four straight weekends. For what essentially was a Lifetime Movie with no star power to gross almost $200 million (adjusted) is an astounding result. Can anyone here who followed box office back then speak to why it struck such a chord with audiences? Was it that it acted as a sort of spiritual successor to Fatal Attraction?