A Look at The Biggest Box Office Stories from 1972-present (THABOS: The History of Amazing Box Office Stories) | IT'S FINALLY COMPLETE!!!!!!!

[aabattery]

When Harry Met Sally is the best rom-com ever made IMO. 

[baumer]

15 minutes ago, aabattery said:

When Harry Met Sally is the best rom-com ever made IMO. 

 

Its not even close imo.

[Premium George]

Sorry to get ahead of myself but was crystal skull favorite for top grosser of summer 2008?

Indiana jones 5 comes july 10, 2020. If The Batman gets postponed to 2020, it will be fun to watch this franchises clash again.

[baumer]

The Dark Knight was always favored to win the summer of 2008. At least that's how I recall it.

[baumer]

Batman Begins was a huge success and after all the initial hoopla dissipated over the casting of Heath Ledger, once the word got out how incredible it was not only was it expected to win the summer but some people thought it would win quite handily. Which of course it did end up doing.

[Chaz]

1 hour ago, baumer said:

The Dark Knight was always favored to win the summer of 2008. At least that's how I recall it.

Yeah, the buzz on that was deafening. I remember a bit from the MTV Movie Awards in May '08 where RDJ was trying to impress a nerd in his office, and the guy was like "Iron Man was fine...until The Dark Knight releases."

 

The opening weekend and first Monday threads were some of my favorites at BOM.

Edited June 20, 2017 by Chaz

[Spidey Freak]

10 hours ago, Kalo said:

1989 was a great year, I know your not into animations and you covered a lot, But The Little Mermaids run was really impressive, it was the highest grossing fully animated film of all time when it came out, at a time when animated films were not thought of as blockbuster films. the film's producer cautioned the the staff and disney not expect it to gross as much as Oliver and Company which made $53m, becuase it was perceived as a "girls" movie. it went on to gross $84m at the domestic box office, gained critical acclaim, won two Oscars and ushered in what today is known as the Renaissance era for Disney animation that started with Mermaid in 1989 and lasted until Tarzan's release in 1999. 

 

Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins has been cited for saying that The Little Mermaid was one of her inspirations when making the film. it is to this day not only one of my favorite animated films of all time, but all time period. 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXKlJuO07eM 

 

It's amusing how many parallels can be drawn between TLM and WW. Not just in the fact that Ariel inspired Diana's characterization to a degree and that they paid homage to the beach scene, but everything down to how both films were in limbo for decades, both were underestimated for featuring female leads and mainly targeting girls/women, both followed financially successful albeit critically panned predecessors, and both ended up breaking out like crazy and received a ton of accolades.

 

Not to take away from Patty's hard work and all the credit she has been receiving (and which she more than deserves), but I wish Allan Heinberg got a little more recognition. It was his decision to use Ariel as one of the templates for Diana's character journey, and I think that in no small part has really contributed to audiences connecting to the latter princess in a manner very few people had anticipated.

[Kalo]

1 hour ago, Spidey Freak said:

 

It's amusing how many parallels can be drawn between TLM and WW. Not just in the fact that Ariel inspired Diana's characterization to a degree and that they paid homage to the beach scene, but everything down to how both films were in limbo for decades, both were underestimated for featuring female leads and mainly targeting girls/women, both followed financially successful albeit critically panned predecessors, and both ended up breaking out like crazy and received a ton of accolades.

 

Not to take away from Patty's hard work and all the credit she has been receiving (and which she more than deserves), but I wish Allan Heinberg got a little more recognition. It was his decision to use Ariel as one of the templates for Diana's character journey, and I think that in no small part has really contributed to audiences connecting to the latter princess in a manner very few people had anticipated.

 

Ariel's characterization was very different from previously Disney Princess, she was flawed, she disobeys her father wishes for a dream that seemed unreachable, which is really kind of selfish, but she was so incredibly likeable and relatable like so many teens you couldn't help but root for her in the end, made audiences connected with the character, becuase she was real, boys and girls imo. it was also the first Disney Princess to have a movie since Sleeping Beauty in 1959 I believe. it didn't hurt that it had gorgeous animation and some of the best songs Disney has to date either. 

[baumer]

Long day at work today.  I'll get 1990 done tomorrow night.

 

We've gone through the 70's and 80's....pretty cool. 

[baumer]

Just thought I'd let you guys know that Ghost made 500 million WW, in 1990.  Let that sink in for a minute.

Pretty Woman made 465 million...let that sink in as well...two films about romance in some way, were the top two grossing films WW in 1990.

[Kalo]

Yay 1990 is next! my birth year. 

[Dementeleus]

2 hours ago, Kalo said:

Yay 1990 is next! my birth year. 

 

 

[baumer]

Stupid work this week.

 

I'll get 1990 and 1991 done this weekend, for sure.

[baumer]

1990

 

Well, here we are, starting out third decade.  The interesting thing about 1990 is that when you start looking up film grosses, there is an ideology shift from just domestic to world wide figures.  World wide figures were available for some of the very biggest films from the 70's and 80's but not for the average films.  Now, when I look them up, Ghost comes up first for 1990, not Hone Alone.  I will continue this thread concentrating mostly on domestic box office but I will certainly mention the WW gross.  Global receipts are a good thing because they make good films great, smaller films a bit bigger and medium films much better (concerning box office).

 

1990 saw a record 9 films hit the vaunted 100 million mark and 4 gross more than 400 world wide.  Two of the top five grossing films both domestically and World Wide were romances.  The top grossing film domestically has gone on to become a Christmas classic and it topped off a stellar year for one of its stars who not only played a part in the biggest movie of the year but in another film he would win his first Oscar in one of the most memorable performances, perhaps of all time.  

 

Coming in first for the year was Home Alone.  Home Alone is a Christmas comedy written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The film stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, a boy who is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for their Christmas vacation. Kevin initially relishes being home alone, but soon has to contend with two would-be burglars played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern. The film also features Catherine O'Hara and John Heard as Kevin's parents.  This finishing first at the box office was one of the biggest shocks, perhaps of all time.  In a world where blockbusters about Jedis and superheroes and explosions and space cowboys, a little film about family grossed close to 500 million at the world wide box office. 

 

 

Home Alone had a budget of 17 million and John Hughes personally gave the job to Chris Columbus because or their previous relationship on the movie Nqtional Lampoon's Vacation.  Columbus and Chevy Chase clashed on that film and Columbus left it, but Hughes believed in him enough to give him the script for Home Alone.  Macauly Culkin was also recommended by Hughes because their first collaboration in Uncle Buck.  The stunts for the film were dangerous and at first the stuntmen used wires, but they were clearly visible in the dailies so eventually they did the stunts without them.  Columbus has admitted that at times he prayed for their safety.  Shockingly, no stuntmen were hurt during the making of the film.

 

Home Alone grossed a monstrous 285 million at the domestic box office and 475 million WW.

 

Coming in at number two was another box office shocker.  Ghost is a romantic fantasy thriller film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, and Rick Aviles. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.

The plot centers on a young woman in jeopardy (Moore), the ghost of her murdered lover (Swayze) and a reluctant psychic (Goldberg) who assists him in saving her although the psychic had previously been faking her powers.

The film was an outstanding commercial success, grossing over $505.7 million at the box office on a budget of $22 million. It was the highest-grossing film WW of 1990.

 

The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Score and Best Film Editing. It won the awards for Best Supporting Actress for Goldberg and Best Original Screenplay for Bruce Joel Rubin. Swayze and Moore both received Golden Globe Award nominations for their performances, while Goldberg won the BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Saturn Awards in addition to the Oscar.

 

During an interview on the Arsenio hall show, Bruce Willis was promoting Die Hard 2, which came out one week before his then wife, Demi Moore's film.  Ghost had already started getting good reviews, and Moore and Goldberg were mentioned especially.  Die Hard 2 was supposed to be one of the big boys of the year and when Arsenio mentioned to Willis that Moore and Ghost were getting great reviews, Willis agreed and even though they were working for different studios, Willis giving his opinion on how good Ghost was, might of helped with the opening weekend.  Willis, at this time, was one of the biggest stars on the planet.  Ironically, Ghost opened to number two behind Die Hard 2's second week gross of 14 million.  But then something beautiful happened.  In Ghost's second weekend, it increased 2% while DH2 dropped 30% and the two new openers (Arachnophobia and Navy Seals) failed to make a dent, Ghost finished the weekend on top.  

 

Ghost ended with a multiplier of 18 and spent 9 weeks at number one or two (different times of course, but take that Wonder Woman)

 

Coming in at number three was the shocking (to box office nerds and Martin Scorsese Stans) Dances With Wolves.  Dances with Wolves is an American epic Western film directed by, produced by, and starring Kevin Costner. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 book of the same name by Michael Blake and tells the story of a Union Army lieutenant who travels to the American frontier to find a military post and his dealings with a group of Lakota Indians.

Costner developed the film with an initial budget of $15 million. Dances with Wolves won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama. Much of the dialogue is spoken in Lakota with English subtitles. It was shot in South Dakota and Wyoming, and translated by Albert White Hat, the chair of the Lakota Studies Department at Sinte Gleska University.

The film is credited as a leading influence for the revitalization of the Western genre of filmmaking in Hollywood. In 2007, Dances with Wolves was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

 

The theatrical version 181 minutes long and is an excellent film.  The HV version is almost an hour longer and imo, makes Dances With Wolves one of the best films of the 90's.  Dances with Wolves was nominated for 12 Oscars and won 7.  This was the year many felt Goodfellas should have swept and imo, Goodfellas is a fantastic film that just went up against a slightly better one.  

 

 

DWW grossed 184 million domestically and an obscene 424 million WW, making Costner, at least for the next decade, one of the biggest stars in the world.

 

Continuing the list of surprising films and star making movies, Pretty Woman comes in at number four with a domestic take of 174 million and world wide receipts of 464 million.  Pretty Woman is a romantic comedy directed by Garry Marshall from a screenplay by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and features Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), Laura San Giacomo and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Its story centers on down-on-her-luck Hollywood hooker Vivian Ward, who is hired by Edward Lewis, a wealthy businessman, to be his escort for several business and social functions, and their developing relationship over the course of her week-long stay with him.

Originally intended to be a dark cautionary tale about class and sex work in Los Angeles, the film was reconceived as a romantic comedy with a large budget. It was widely successful at the box office and became one of the highest-grossing films of 1990. The film saw the highest number of ticket sales in the U.S. ever for a romantic comedy, with Box Office Mojo listing it as the #1 romantic comedy by the highest estimated domestic tickets sold at 42,176,400, slightly ahead of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) at 41,419,500 tickets. 

 

 

Pretty Woman is a classic Romeo and Juliet kind of story but it didn't start out with a warm and fuzzy script.  Originally it was meant to be a dark film about the underworld of Hollywood hookers.  But then someone had the genius idea to make it much more light and the version that we all know and love was born.  This is also a film that had myriad of famous actors turn down both the female and male roles.  Julia Roberts was best known for her role in the small film Mystic Pizza.               vb  The studio naturally wanted someone with much more name recognition.  Meg Ryan was their first choice and she turned it down because of her objections with the script.  Molly Ringwald was offered and turned it down for the same reason.   Michelle Pfeiffer, Diane Lane and Daryl Hannah all turned it down before they finally settled on Roberts.  This is the role that made her a star and from this movie until Ocean's Eleven she was America's Sweetheart and her box office resume was incredible.  

 

For the male lead, many also turned it down before Gere was cast.  Most notably, Al Pacino turned it down.  

 

Pretty Woman opened at number one and then spent 9 weeks at number one or two and on a budget of 14 million grossed 178 million in the US and a total of 463 WW.  

 

Coming in at number five was New Line's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Turtles grossed 135 million in the US and just over 200 million WW.  The budget was 13.5 million.  It also became a huge merchandise seller.  

 

Many major studios, such as Walt Disney Pictures, Columbia Pictures, MGM/UA, Orion Pictures, Paramount (whose parent company Viacom would acquire the TMNT property in 2009), and Warner Bros. turned down the film for distribution; they were worried that despite the popularity of the cartoon and the toy line, the film could potentially be a box office disappointment, like Masters of the Universe was just a couple years prior.  The film finally found distribution roughly halfway through the initial production, via the then small and independent production company New Line Cinema, which at that point had been known for distributing the Nightmare on Elm Street films and arthouse fare.  It went on the become the highest grossing independent film of all time.

 

Number six was the John McTiernan film, The Hunt for Red October.  The Hunt for Red October is an espionage thriller film produced by Mace Neufeld, directed by John McTiernan, that stars Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, and Sam Neill. The film is based on Tom Clancy's 1984 bestselling novel of the same name.

 

The film was a co-production between Paramount Pictures, Mace Neufeld Productions, and Nina Saxon Film Design. Theatrically, it was commercially distributed by Paramount Pictures and by the Paramount Home Entertainment division for home media markets. Following its wide theatrical release, the film was nominated for and won a number of accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing in 1991.

 

Domestically it did 122 million and WW just over 200.  The budget was 30 million.  An unfortunate casualty from this film was Alec Baldwin.  His star was clearly on the rise before October.  He had two pretty big hits with Beetlejuice and Working Girl.  With the success of October, and the sequel, Patriot Games quickly greenlit, Baldwin priced himself out of the film be demanding 10 million dollars to reprise his role.  Paramount didn't feel he was worth it and felt that Connery was more responsible for its success.  So they cast the biggest actor on the planet (at the time), Harrison Ford, to play Jack Ryan and the sequels were huge hits.  Baldwin never recovered from this one poor decision.  Baldwin has had a long and successful career but after October, he starred in flop after flop after flop.  His next 15 films would not make more than 46 million and it wasn't until he had a supporting role in Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor, that he would see any film do well.  Baldwin is now on a hot streak but his greed might have cost him the opportunity at a lot of good scripts and it certainly looks to have stunted his star power.

 

Total Recall came in at number 7 domestically but number 5 on the WW charts.  Total Recall is a science-fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Ronny Cox, and Michael Ironside. The film is loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale". It tells the story of a construction worker who is having troubling dreams about Mars and a mysterious woman there. It was written by Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, Jon Povill, and Gary Goldman, and won a Special Achievement Academy Award for its visual effects. The original score composed by Jerry Goldsmith won the BMI Film Music Award.

With a budget between $50–65 million, Total Recall was one of the most expensive films made at the time of its release, but not quite as much as the film at number 8

 

 

The original screenplay was written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the writers of Alien, who had bought the rights to Philip K. Dick's short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" while Dick was still alive. They were unable to find a backer for the project and it drifted into development hell, passing from studio to studio.

 

In the mid-1980s, producer Dino De Laurentiis took on the project with Richard Dreyfuss attached to star. Patrick Swayze, who had recently starred in Dirty Dancing, was also considered for the role. In 1987, it was announced that De Laurentiis would make the film as the first production for his DEL company at the new De Laurentiis film studios on the Gold Coast, with Bruce Beresford to direct from a screenplay by O'Bannon and Shusett. This film did not eventuate.  This obviously didn't happen.

 

David Cronenberg was attached to direct but wanted to cast William Hurt in the lead role. Cronenberg described his work on the project and eventual falling out with Shusett: "I worked on it for a year and did about 12 drafts. Eventually we got to a point where Ron Shusett said, 'You know what you've done? You've done the Philip K. Dick version.' I said, 'Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?' He said, 'No, no, we want to do Raiders of the Lost Ark Go to Mars.'". When the adaptation of Dune flopped at the box office, De Laurentiis similarly lost enthusiasm for the project. Although he went uncredited in the final version of the film, Cronenberg originated the idea of mutants on Mars, including the character of Kuato (spelled Quato in his screenplay).

 

The collapse of De Laurentiis' company provided an opening for Schwarzenegger, who had unsuccessfully approached the producer about starring in the film. He persuaded Carolco to buy the rights to the film for a comparatively cheap $3 million and negotiated a salary of $10–11 million (plus 15% of the profits) to star, with an unusually broad degree of control over the production. He obtained veto power over the producer, director, screenplay, co-stars and promotion. The first thing Schwarzenegger did was personally recruit Paul Verhoeven to direct the film, having been impressed by the Dutch director's RoboCop (for which Schwarzenegger was considered for the title role). By this time the script had been through forty-two drafts but it still lacked a third act. Gary Goldman was therefore brought in by Paul Verhoeven to work with Ronald Shusett to develop the final draft of the screenplay. The director also brought in many of his collaborators on RoboCop, including actor Ronny Cox, cinematographer Jost Vacano, production designer William Sandell, editor Frank J. Urioste, and special effects designer Rob Bottin (who is one of my personal favourites).

 

Initially TR had an X rating due to violence...this was trimmed enough to get the R rating.  Total Recall made 119 million in the US and 261 million WW.

 

Number 8 was Die Hard 2:  Die Harder.  While the film was a box office hit, it also had a massive budget of 70 million which at the time was obscene.  It grossed 119 million domestically and 240 WW.  Die Hard 2 is an action film and the second entry in the Die Hard film series. It was released on June 29, 1990. The film was directed by Renny Harlin, written by Steven E. deSouza and Doug Richardson, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane. 

The screenplay was written by Steven E. de Souza and Doug Richardson, adapted from Walter Wager's novel 58 Minutes.

As with the first film, the action in Die Hard 2 takes place on Christmas Eve. McClane is waiting for his wife to land at Washington Dulles International Airport when terrorists take over the air traffic control system. He must stop the terrorists before his wife's plane and several other incoming flights that are circling the airport run out of fuel and crash. During the night, McClane must also contend with airport police, maintenance workers, and a military commander, all of whom do not want his assistance.

 

 

Shockingly, Die Hard 2 had much better critical reception than the original and Gene Siskel listed it as the 6th best movie of 1990.  

 

Willis was paid 7.5 million for the role and he got a percentage of the box office receipts.  

 

Number 9 was the Warren Beatty pet project Dick Tracey.  Dick Tracy is an action comedy  based on the 1930s comic strip character of the same name created by Chester Gould. The film has one of the all time WHO'S WHO of casts.  Warren Beatty produced, directed, and starred in the film, which features supporting roles from Al Pacino, Charles Durning, Dustin Hoffman, William Forsythe, Glenne Headly, Paul Sorvino, Dick Van Dyke, Charlie Korsmo, and Madonna. 

 

Development of the film started in the early 1980s with Tom Mankiewicz assigned to write the script. The screenplay would instead be crafted by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., both of Top Gun fame. The project also went through directors Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Walter Hill, and Richard Benjamin before the arrival of Beatty. Filming was mostly at Universal Studios. Danny Elfman was hired to compose the film score, and the music was featured on three separate soundtrack albums.

Dick Tracy was released in 1990 to mixed reviews, but was a success at the box office and at awards time. It picked up seven Academy Award nominations and won in three of the categories: Best Original Song, Best Makeup and Best Art Direction.  

 

Dick Tracey did well at the domestic box office with 103 million and made 163 WW on a budget of 45 million.

 

Number ten was the second Arnold film of 1990, Kindergarten Cop.  It was also his second big comedy.  In fact, box office wise, 1990 might have been Arnold's biggest year.  This is the year that he confirmed his status as not only a draw in action but now in comedy as well.  The film had a budget of 15 million and grossed 91M domestically and more than 200WW.  Patrick Swayze and Bill Murray were at one time considered for the Kimble role before Arnold secured it.  

 

Number 11 domestically and 6 WW was the final episode in the Back to the Future Trilogy.  This one was set in the old west and Marty goes back to 1885 to save Doc from getting murdered by Biff's ancestors.  

 

 

Back to the Future Part III is a Science fiction Western. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson. The film continues immediately following Back to the Future Part II (1989). 

Back to the Future Part III was filmed in California and Arizona, and was produced on a $40 million budget back-to-back with Part II. Part III was released in the United States on May 25, 1990, six months after the previous installment. Part III earned $244.5 million worldwide.

 

Harrison Ford's Presumed Innocent came in at number 12 domestically but number 8 WW as it grossed 86/220.  

 

Presumed Innocent is a legal drama based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Scott Turow. Directed by Alan J. Pakula, and written by Pakula and Frank Pierson, it stars Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raúl Juliá, Bonnie Bedelia, Paul Winfield and Greta Scacchi. Presumed Innocent follows Rusty Sabich (Ford), a prosecutor who is charged with the murder of his colleague and mistress Carolyn Polhemus (Scacchi).

 

 The project was developed at Warner Bros., and Pakula was brought in to rewrite the script with Pierson before signing on as the film's director in January 1989. On a budget of $20 million, the film's principal photography commenced in May 1989 and concluded in October of that year. Filming took place on locations in Detroit, Windsor, Ontario, and New Jersey, and on soundstages at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York.

 

This was another actor, along with Schwarzenegger to have two massive hits WW in 1990.

 

Two disappointing sequels came in at 14 and 15.  Both were to massive hits.  Another 48 Hours grossed about the same as the original (80 million) but the budget was much bigger and was considered a disappointment.  Three Men and a Little Lady came in way way under the original as it took in 71 million.

 

Other sequels that did poorly in 1990 are:

 

24) Look Who's Talking Too:  47M

31) Gremlins 2:  41M

32) Rocky V: 40M

38) Predator 2:  30M

 

 

Steven Seagal was becoming a big action star by 1990 and his Hard To Kill did good but modest business with 47 million.  But the budgets for his films were almost always under 10 million and although no international figures are available, his films did really well globally and were huge earners on HV.  He also had the number 27 film with Marked for Death which came out 8 months later.  

 

Goodfellas, one of the best mob movies of all time, came in at a disappointing 26th for the year as it made 46 million.  Scorsese's film has since gone on to icon status, but for some reason in 1990 it never really caught on with a audience outside of his devoted following.  

 

 

And finally at number 71, I have to mention Tremors.  It only grossed 16 million but has gone on to become one of the greatest all time cult classics.  Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward star as two lovable western friends who encounter giant underground worms that will eat anything and everything in sight.  It's kind of like a comedic version of JAWS on land.  It went on to spawn 5 sequels, all of which went straight to DVD.

 

THIS WAS 1990

[baumer]

@75live @damnitgeorge08 @Telemachos @Kalo

[aabattery]

Steven Seagal is the weirdest guy.

[baumer]

Just now, aabattery said:

Steven Seagal is the weirdest guy.

 

Well, now he is.  He's about double his size from the early 90's,  But he was a great action star for a while.

[junkshop36]

Tremors is one of my favorite all time movies. It's just so damn fun! 

[baumer]

So maybe you're wondering why I'm up at 3AM, @Telemachos.

 

I woke up at 430AM yesterday, went to the gym, drove two hours to a friends place....hung out and then for some reason, got so ridiculously tired, came home and crashed at 6pm until midnight.  It was one of the weirdest things to happen to me.  So I got up at around midnight, watched a bit of tv and then worked on this.

[aabattery]

20 minutes ago, baumer said:

 

Well, now he is.  He's about double his size from the early 90's,  But he was a great action star for a while.

 

Looking back, I don't think I've actually watched any of his stuff.

 

I mainly know him from Stephen Tobolwsky's video about working with him, which was hysterical.