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

[narniadis]

1991 has some of my most fave films. Robin Hood is such a pleasure to watch and Baumer is completely right about JFK and that other tragedy (again, not that most here care). 

 

As always B, a fantastic write up

[Kalo]

Man that 1990 update slipped right past me, great write ups @baumer as usual. getting close to times when I will actually remember what was going on in my life when these movies came out.  

[John Marston]

I remember reading that Dick Tracy was actually considered a massive disappointment at the time. 

[teardropmina]

unlike 1990, the year of surprise, 1991 was always to be the year of T2 (Ghost actually grossed more than T2 DOM...). I lost counts how many times I've watched T2, all through the VHS and DVD special edition days... the upgraded Sarah Connor was easily as impressive as T1000:)

 

Kevin Costner at the absolute peak of his stardom...I really think that Robin Hood became a global hit because of him. On the smaller scale was Sleeping with the Enemy, Roberts could take a standard thriller to 100M+ (ofc Roberts star power lasted much longer).

 

Hook was underwhelming...lack of the Spielberg's magic I expected at that time, and the action sequence was just quite bland. 

 

Lamb was also an event due to its genre and its legendary Oscar wins.

 

Fried Green Tomatoes was the WoM movie of the year. 

 

I remember watching City Slickers, Star Trek, Bride in basically empty theaters...they were really "foreign"  to Taiwanese:)

 

also, T2 was rated R, but it didn't look like a R-rated movie at all, especially when we had The Last Boy Scout showing the true color of R-rated action flicks.  

[baumer]

1992...coming up...another Disney classic....what are you going to do?  Charge me with smoking?  None of us can handle the truth....there's no crying in baseball and you're mother's an astronaut....I'll get to this soon.

[baumer]

For those who have been reading....thank you once again.  I know I keep saying this, but I will really try to get the pace going on this.  I've been working too much.  But I'm about to start on 1992.  Should be up in an hour.

[baumer]

1992

 

This is the year that we first witnessed the top ten domestic films all finish with more than 100 million.  In fact, it was a record year as 11 films took in more than 100 million.  The most interesting placements were the films at number 5,6,7 and 8.  These kinds of films don't seem to make a dent at the box office or even get made anymore.

 

Coming in at number one both domestically and WW was Disney's smash animation, Aladdin.  Aladdin is an animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Studios.  The film is the 31st Disney animated feature film, and was the fourth produced during the Disney film era known as the Disney Renaissance. It was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, and is based on the Arab-style folktale Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from One Thousand and One Nights. The voice cast features Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried and Douglas Seale. The film follows Aladdin, a street urchin, who finds a magic lamp containing a genie. In order to hide the lamp from the Grand vizier, he disguises himself as a richest prince, and tries to impress the Sultan and his daughter.

 

Lyricist Howard Ashman first pitched the idea, and the screenplay went through three drafts before then-Disney Studios president Jeffrey Katzenberg agreed to its production. The animators based their designs on the work of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, and computers were used for both finishing the artwork and creating some animated elements. The musical score was written by Alan Menken and features six songs with lyrics written by both Ashman and Tim Rice, who took over after Ashman's death.

The film was released on November 25, 1992 and became the most successful film of 1992, earning over $217 million in revenue in the United States, and over $504 million worldwide. The film won many awards, mostly for its soundtrack. Aladdin's success led to other material inspired by the film, including two direct-to-video sequels, The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves, an animated television series of the same name, toys, video games, spin-offs, including a live-action remake, a prequel about the genie titled Genies, Disney merchandise, and a Broadway adaptation that debuted in 2014.

 

Here's an interesting bit about the behind the scenes stuff.  

 

In gratitude for his success with Touchstone Pictures' Good Morning, Vietnam, Robin Williams voiced the Genie for SAG scale pay ($75,000) instead of his asking fee of $8 million, on condition that his name or image not be used for marketing, and his (supporting) character not take more than 25% of space on advertising artwork, since Williams' film Toys was scheduled for release one month after Aladdin's debut. For financial reasons, the studio went back on the deal on both counts, especially in poster art by having the Genie in 25% of the image, but having other major and supporting characters portrayed considerably smaller. The Disney Hyperion book Aladdin: The Making of an Animated Film listed both of Williams' characters "The Peddler" and "The Genie" ahead of main characters, but was forced to refer to him only as "the actor signed to play the Genie".

 

Disney, while not using Williams’ name in commercials as per the contract, used his voice for the Genie in the commercials and used the Genie character to sell toys and fast food tie-ins, without having to pay Williams additional money; Williams unhappily quipped at the time “The only reason Mickey Mouse has three fingers is because he can’t pick up a check.” Disney attempted to assuage Williams by sending him a Pablo Picasso painting worth more than $1 million at the time, but this move failed to repair the damaged relationship, as the painting was a self-portrait of the artist as Vincent van Gogh which apparently really "clashed" with the Williams' wilder home decor. Williams refused to sign on for Aladdin 2, so it was Dan Castellaneta that voiced the Genie. When Jeffrey Katzenberg was replaced by Joe Roth as Walt Disney Studios chairman, Roth organized a public apology to Williams.

 

Coming in at number two was the sequel to the John Hughes smash hit, Home Alone.  This one took place in New York City and it was called Lost in New York.  Home Alone 2 is a Christmas comedy written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus.  Macaulay Culkin reprises his role as Kevin McCallister, while Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern reprise their roles as the Wet Bandits, now known as the Sticky Bandits. Catherine O'Hara, John Heard, Rob Schneider, Tim Curry, and Brenda Fricker are also featured.

 

The film became the second most financially successful film of 1992, earning over $173 million in revenue in the United States and $359 million worldwide against a budget of $20 million. The film is also notable for featuring a cameo from future President Donald Trump, who had owned the Plaza Hotel at the time of the film's production.

 

 

 

The fascinating thing about this film, at least from my perspective is that the plot is so far fetched.  Not that the first one wasn't of course but in the first one you could at least buy that ONE TIME a family could forget their young, petulant child during the confusion of getting 14 people to the airport.  You needed to believe this in order to make it work.  But to have it happen a second time is ludicrous and yet the film, while not quite as charming as the original, still hits all the same emotional beats and even has a lot of the same plot, capped off by another strange but misunderstood adult, coming to Kevin's rescue.  Everything worked because Hughes is so good at writing his characters and Christmas is the perfect setting for this kind of movie.  

 

They also kept the budget low and made bank on a world wide basis.  It was of course torn to shreds by fat film critics who don't get the appeal of funny films with cartoon violence.  

 

Coming in at number three domestically and number 6 WW was Tim Burton's follow up to his record setting 1989 film, Batman Returns.  Batman Returns is a DC superhero film, directed by Tim Burton. It is the second instalment of Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series, with Michael Keaton reprising the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film, produced by Denise Di Novi and Burton, introduces the characters of Max Shreck (Christopher Walken), a corrupt business tycoon who teams up with the Penguin (Danny DeVito) to take over Gotham City, as well as the character of Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer).

Burton originally did not want to direct another Batman film. Warner Bros. developed a script with writer Sam Hamm which had the Penguin and Catwoman going after hidden treasure. Burton agreed to return after they granted him more creative control and replaced Hamm with Daniel Waters. Wesley Strick did an uncredited rewrite, removing the characters of Harvey Dent and Robin and rewriting the climax. Annette Bening was originally cast as Catwoman but became pregnant and was replaced with Pfeiffer. Filming for Batman Returns started in June 1991 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.

Batman Returns was released on June 19, 1992. The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Makeup, as well as two BAFTA awards. Batman Returns's budget was $80 million and it grossed $266.8 million worldwide.  The film received generally positive reviews from critics praising the action sequences, the acting, Danny Elfman's score, effects and the film's villains, though the overwhelmingly dark and depressing tone was less well received.

 

 

 

On a completely personal note, this is one of the worst films ever made.  Giving Burton complete control was major disaster.  And even though there are many who like this film, the box office indicated that many were disappointed with it.  Returns set the opening weekend record with 45 million and could only manage a multiplier of 3.6, which in the 90's was horrible.  And the international numbers were way down as well.  In fact, WW, this made just slightly more than the 1989 film did domestically.  So, where did it go wrong?  To me, there's not one smart thing about this movie.  The Penguin is a disgusting character that we are supposed to believe people will love and that he can cause people to hate the Batman.  The Catwoman's story is also ridiculous.  She falls from a window, dies, gets licked by cats and is now a super villain.  This takes place in the dead of winter and no one has cool air coming from them when they breathe.  You have bad guys that can only move around by doing cartwheels, penguins with rockets on their back.  This is a mess from start to finish.  

 

 

Michelle Pfeiffer does receive a lot of praise for her interpretation of Catwoman, not from me of course but from many others.  Her character is a  normal woman who becomes a criminal after being almost killed by her boss Max Shreck.  She is held as a femme fatale in the most of the film. According to Michelle Pfeiffer, who was previously considered to play Vicki Vale in the previous film, she felt devastated after Annette Bening was cast as Catwoman. However, Bening became pregnant, allowing Pfeiffer to get the role. Pfeiffer's $3 million salary was $2 million more than was offered to Bening. To prepare for the role, Pfeiffer attended kickboxing classes and practised handling whip (in which she accidentally cut her teacher's chin).[4] Susan Sarandon, Meryl Streep (who was considered "too old" by Burton), Brooke Shields (who Burton considered "not bankable"), Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman (who ended up playing Dr. Chase Meridian in Batman Forever), Jodie Foster, Geena Davis, Sigourney Weaver, Lena Olin, singer Madonna, Raquel Welch, Cher, Ellen Barkin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lorraine Bracco, Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Beals were also considered for the role, but they lost out to Pfeiffer.

 

Coming in at number four domestically and 5 WW was Warner Brother's other summer tentpole, Lethal Weapon 3.  While this finished with less than Batman Domestically, it took in more WW.  Taking in 144.7 stateside but more than 320 million WW, it was a massive hit for WB.  Somehow they even managed to keep the budget low at 35 million even though they got all three leads to return (Gibson, Glover, Pesci).  They also added Renee Russo to the mix.  

 

Lethal Weapon 3 is a buddy cop action comedy directed and produced by Richard Donner.  Joel Silver is also a producer.

In the film, which is set three years after Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Martin Riggs (Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Glover) pursue Jack Travis (Stuart Wilson), a former L.A.P.D. lieutenant turned ruthless arms dealer, during the six days prior to Murtaugh's retirement. Riggs and Murtaugh are joined by Leo Getz (Pesci), as well as Internal Affairs Sergeant Lorna Cole (Russo).

Unlike the first two films which received generally positive reviews, Lethal Weapon 3 was met with mixed reviews. 

 

 

 

Jeffrey Boam's first two drafts of the script were different from the final film. The Lorna character (Russo) of Lorna for example was not a woman in original drafts, but the original character still had same personality and was just as lethal and crazy as Riggs, making him his match. Riggs also had an affair with Roger's daughter Rianne and few parts in the final film where Roger suspects that Riggs and Rianne are together are only parts left from the original drafts.  Thankfully this was cut as Riggs is old enough to be her father.  

 

Director Richard Donner demanded some big changes on the script which included changing the original character of Lorna (who had different name in earlier drafts) into a woman and turning her into Riggs' girlfriend. He also re-worked the script to be less story-oriented and not focus on the main villains but instead on the relationship between Riggs and Murtaugh. He also toned down action scenes from the script and brought back Leo Getz into the story. All of his scenes were written in afterwards. In the original script Leo had left L.A. for New York. Boam had some disagreements with changes that Donner made but he was not against it. Boam was fired after he wrote his first two drafts of the script. One of the reasons for this was because Donner wasn't interested in the script and he disagreed with some parts of Boam's original draft. After another writer, Robert Mark Kamen was hired to re-write the script, Boam was called to return to work on it again. The filmmakers realized that Kamen's re-writes were not working. Boam asked to work alone on the script and ended up constantly changing it.

According to Kamen in 2012 interview for craveonline, many of his writing contributions ended up in the final film. Kamen also wrote many parts of the previous film in the series, with the most significant portions being the South African villains.

 

Carrie Fisher was an uncredited script doctor on the film.

 

Coming in at number 5 is one of those films that they don't make anymore....the court-room drama.  A Few Good Men is a  legal drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore, with Kevin Bacon, Kevin Pollak, Wolfgang Bodison, James Marshall, J. T. Walsh and Kiefer Sutherland in supporting roles. It was adapted for the screen by Aaron Sorkin from his play of the same name but includes contributions by William Goldman. The film revolves around the court-martial of two U.S. Marines charged with the murder of a fellow Marine and the tribulations of their lawyers as they prepare a case to defend their clients.

 

 

AFGM had a good sized budget of close to 40 million but it also had one of the best casts of the 90's.  In addition the stars mentioned, you also had a cameo from a pre-Jerry Maguire Cuba Gooding Jr.  The cast in AFGM is one of the things that makes it so enjoyable.  Jack Nicholson chews up scenery in every scene he's in.  For his now famous "You Can't Handle The Truth" speech, it was reported that Rob Reiner had him do all of parts of it close to 20 times.  Every time he did it, Reiner was shocked that every delivery was just as passionate as the last.  When Reiner asked Jack how he was able to do that, Jack just replied (read this in Jack's voice) "I love to act Rob...I love it."  Nicholson was nominated for best supporting actor but lost out to Gene Hackman in Unforgiven.  

 

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin got the inspiration to write the source play, a courtroom drama called A Few Good Men, from a phone conversation with his sister Deborah, who had graduated from Boston University Law School and signed up for a three-year stint with the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps. She was going to Guantanamo Bay to defend a group of Marines who came close to killing a fellow Marine in a hazing ordered by a superior officer. Sorkin took that information and wrote much of his story on cocktail napkins while bartending at the Palace Theatre on Broadway. His roommates and he had purchased a Macintosh 512K, so when he returned home, he would empty his pockets of the cocktail napkins and type them into the computer, forming a basis from which he wrote many drafts for A Few Good Men.  This is a similar story to how JK Rowling wrote the first draft of Harry Potter.  She too used cocktail napkins...point of the story...go to a bar, get drunk and write on cocktail napkins.  You'll get rich.

 

 

 

In 1988, Sorkin sold the film rights for his play to producer David Brown before it premiered, in a deal reportedly "well into six figures". Brown had read an article in The New York Times about Sorkin's one-act play Hidden in This Picture, and he found out Sorkin also had a play called A Few Good Men that was having off-Broadway readings.

William Goldman did an uncredited rewrite of the script that Sorkin liked so much, he incorporated the changes made into the stage version.

Brown was producing a few projects at TriStar Pictures, and he tried to interest them in making A Few Good Men into a film, but his proposal was declined due to the lack of star-actor involvement. Brown later got a call from Alan Horn at Castle Rock Entertainment, who was anxious to make the film. Rob Reiner, a producing partner at Castle Rock, opted to direct it.

 

Nicholson would later comment of the $5 million he received for his role, "It was one of the few times when it was money well spent."

 

Several former Navy JAG lawyers have been identified as the basis for Tom Cruise's character Lt. Kaffee. These include Don Marcari (now an attorney in Virginia), former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, Chris Johnson (now practicing in California), and Walter Bansley III (now practicing in Connecticut.) However, in a September 15, 2011, article in The New York Times, Sorkin was quoted as saying, “The character of Dan Kaffee in A Few Good Men is entirely fictional and was not inspired by any particular individual.”

 

A Few Good Men is my favourite film of 1992.

 

Coming in at number 6 is Whoppi Goldberg's first role since she won the Oscar for Ghost.  Sister Act is a musical comedy directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Joseph Howard. The film stars Whoopi Goldberg as a Reno lounge singer who has been put under protective custody in a San Francisco convent of Poor Clares and has to pretend to be a nun when a mob boss puts her on his hit list. Also in the cast are Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, and Harvey Keitel.  Harvey Keitel went through a period in the 90's and 2000's where he would just show up and absolutely kill the role.  This isn't one of those times as his character is good but not overly memorable but any film that has Keitel in it, automatically becomes worth seeing. 

 

One of the most financially successful comedies of the early 1990s, grossing $231 million worldwide, the film was rated #83 on Bravo's The 100 Funniest Movies list.

It spawned a 1993 sequel, entitled Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, and a musical adaptation that premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California, in 2006.  The musical then opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre in April 2011. 

 

 

Sister Act took in almost 140 million domestically establishing Goldberg as one of the true stars of the 90's.  I personally feel that Goldberg has been excellent in most of her work pre-Ghost and this was just her getting her just reward.  Her presence in films like Burglar and Fatal Beauty were part of what made the films so enjoyable.  But it was her turn in 1986's Jumping Jack Flash that imo, should have gotten her first Oscar nomination.  She has screen presence and she is funny and she delivers a line unlike most.  She just has a natural comedic talent that reminded me of Eddie Murphy.  When she delivers a line in JJF about giving blowjobs to goldfish, I nearly lost threw up from laughing so hard.  Sister Act capitalized on this and it's one of the reasons it did so well...her comic timing is excellent.  

 

Number 7 domestically but number 2 WW for the year is the Kevin Costner Whitney Houston smash romance, The Bodyguard.  The Bodyguard is a romantic thriller directed by Mick Jackson and written by Lawrence Kasdan.  Costner stars as a former Secret Service agent-turned-bodyguard who is hired to protect Houston's character, a music star, from an unknown stalker. Kasdan wrote the film in the mid-1970s, originally as a vehicle for Ryan O'Neal and Diana Ross.

The film was Houston's acting debut and was the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 1992, making $411 million worldwide. The soundtrack became the best-selling soundtrack of all time, selling more than 45 million copies worldwide.  The Dolly Parton hit country song, I Will Always Love You was re-recorded by Houston and it certainly helped sell the film.  

 

 

The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album became the best-selling soundtrack of all time. It has been certified diamond in the United States (sales of at least ten million) with shipments of over 17 million copies. Worldwide, the sales are over 45 million copies. In addition, Houston's cover of "I Will Always Love You" sold 12 million units worldwide.

The soundtrack features five songs which were hit singles for Houston: "I Will Always Love You", "I'm Every Woman", the two Oscar-nominated songs, "I Have Nothing" and "Run to You", and "Queen of the Night".

 

On a personal note, Dolly's original is one of my all time favourite songs.  While Houston's is terrific, I find Dolly's to be more more heartbreaking.  She wrote the lyrics so she has a different tone to the song than Houston.  This is taking nothing away from Whitney's rendition of it, but for my taste, Parton's rendition of it will always be better.  

 

This continued the trend of romance films absolutely killing it at the box office.

 

Number 8 is Mike Meyers Saturday Night Live sketch turned feature film, Wayne's World.  Wayne's World is a comedy directed by Penelope Spheeris, produced by Lorne Michaels and written by Mike Myers and Bonnie and Terry Turner. The film stars Myers as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar.  Wayne's World follows Wayne Campbell, a young rock 'n' roll fan who lives with his parents and has a collection of hairnets and name tags from former jobs in the fast-food industry. However, he and his best friend Garth Algar, also a fan of rock 'n' roll, are producing a public-access television show titled Wayne's World which they are broadcasting from Wayne's parents' basement. Everything changes when a studio decides to buy Wayne and Garth's program in order to improve it. However, the studio slowly begins destroying the show. Wayne attempts to trust in his new girlfriend Cassandra and to save his channel.

Wayne's World was Myers' feature film debut. It also features: Rob Lowe, Tia Carrere, Lara Flynn Boyle, Brian Doyle-Murray, Robert Patrick (spoofing his role in Terminator 2: Judgment Day), Chris Farley, Ed O'Neill, Ione Skye, Meat Loaf, and Alice Cooper.

 

 

 

For me, a huge part of the charm of Wayne's World is that it is rooted in Canadiana.  Wayne and Garth are Chicago residents, but Myers is from Toronto (Scarborough to be exact) and not only does he talk like a Canadian, he lives like a Canadian.  The Chicago Blackhawks are features prominently, he's overly polite, and he includes all kinds of inside jokes that perhaps only Canadians would understand.  

 

The song Bohemian Rhapsody was so important to Myers that he threatened to walk when the producers initially denied his request to have it in the film.  It became one of the most iconic things about the film and to this day, you can't listen to the song without thinking of the bead banging scene in the film.  Strangely enough Myers didn't like the headbanging scene initially saying it wasn't funny enough.  After the film came out, Queen experienced a bit of a renaissance.  

 

And finally, after Mike made Austin Powers, he and Dana had a falling out as Dana claimed that Dr. Evil was his impression of Lorne Michaels.  But, unlike Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, the two have since made amends and are on good terms once again.  They have even spoken about a possible Wayne's World reboot.

 

Wayn'e World was made for 20 million and grossed 183 million WW.

 

Number 9 is one of my all time favourite films and one of my favourite performances by an actress.  Basic Instinct is an erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone. The film follows a police detective, Nick Curran (Douglas), who is investigating the brutal murder of a wealthy rock star. During the investigation Curran becomes involved in a torrid and intense relationship with the prime suspect, Catherine Tramell (Stone), an enigmatic writer.

Even before its release, Basic Instinct generated heated controversy due to its overt sexuality and graphic depiction of violence. It was strongly opposed by gay rights activists, who criticized the film's depiction of homosexual relationships and the portrayal of a bisexual woman as a murderous narcissistic psychopath. In a 2006 interview, Stone alleged that the infamous leg-crossing scene in which her vulva was exposed was filmed without her knowledge.  No one actually believes her.  

 

 

Despite initial critical negativity and public protest, Basic Instinct became one of the most financially successful films of the 1990s, grossing $352 million worldwide. Several versions of the film have been released on videocassette, DVD, and Blu-ray including a director's cut with extended footage previously unseen in North American cinemas.  The film has been recognized for its groundbreaking depictions of sexuality in mainstream Hollywood cinema, and has been referred to by scholars as "a neo-noir masterpiece that plays with, and transgresses, the narrative rules of film noir."

 

The screenplay, written in the 1980s, was popular enough to prompt a bidding war; it was eventually purchased by Carolco Pictures, for a reported US$3 million. Eszterhas wrote the film in 13 days, and had been the creative source for several other blockbusters, including Flashdance (1983) and Jagged Edge (1985). 

 

Al Pacino, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Lloyd, Jack Nicholson, Charlie Sheen, Richard Gere, John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Denzel Washington, and Kevin Costner were considered for the role of Nick Curran. In preparation for the car chase scene, Douglas reportedly drove up the steps on Kearny Street in San Francisco for four nights by himself. Douglas recommended Kim Basinger for the role of Catherine Tramell, but Basinger declined. He had also proposed Julia Roberts, Greta Scacchi  and Meg Ryan, but they also turned down the role, as did Michelle Pfeiffer, Geena Davis, Kathleen Turner, Ellen Barkin, and Mariel Hemingway. Verhoeven considered Demi Moore. Stone, who was eventually selected for the role, was a relative unknown until the success of this movie; she was paid a minimal amount of $500,000, considering the film's extensive production budget.  For all the complaints Stone had about the film, it is undoubtedly the film that made her a star and she went on to command some of the highest pay days for women in the 90's.  

 

The scene where Douglas has sex with Tripplehorn was filmed unbeknownst to the actors, who were simply rehearsing the scene. Things heated up quickly, as evidenced by the footage in the final film, and Verhoeven liked the performances so much that he included it in the final film.  Verhoeven initially fought during the production for a lesbian love scene to be added to the script over the objection of Eszterhas, who thought such a scene would be gratuitous. Verhoeven eventually agreed with Eszterhas and apologized to him for forcing the issue.[citation needed] Following the success of Basic Instinct, Eszterhas and Verhoeven went on to collaborate on Showgirls.

 

Stone alleged that the infamous leg-crossing scene in which her vagina was exposed was filmed without her knowledge; Stone had been wearing thin underwear for the scene which Verhoeven said reflected light on the camera lens; and it was not until Stone saw the film in a screening room with a test audience that she became aware of it, leading her to slap Verhoeven in the face and leave the screening.  However Verhoeven strongly denied her claim, and said she was fully aware in advance that her privates would be filmed.

 

It also has what I consider the sexiest song on the soundtrack.  Blue by La Tour is the song that Douglas and Stone grind to in the club.  It's a 7 minute erotic sounding journey through time.  It starts off innocently enough and then just kicks it into overdrive.  It's a perfect selection for the scene and it fits with the aesthetic of the film.

 

 

I first saw this film in Los Angeles, California.  I was living two hours west of Toronto at the time and me and a buddy drove to California.  It was our first time there and first time seeing a film in California.  It was quite the experience.  The audience we saw it with was different than a Canadian audience.  There was lots of hooting and hollering, especially at the legs crossing scene.  Unfortunately our trip was cut short due to the rioting of the Rodney King verdict.

 

Coming in at number ten was A League of Their Own.  A League of Their Own is a sports comedy-drama that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Lori Petty. The screenplay was written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel from a story by Kelly Candaele and Kim Wilson.

In 2012, A League of Their Own was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

 

 

The film grossed 134 million WW with 107 of that coming from North America.  It's also a film that has one of the more iconic lines about there being no crying in baseball.  It also was the start of one of the greatest box office runs in cinematic history.  Tom Hanks, like his character in the film, was kind of down on his luck at this point in his career.  He had a good little run in the early 80's but then he was in disappointment after disappointment after Big.  Bonfire of the Vanities was one of the biggest money losers in film history and he also had other snags with films like Joe Vs The Volcano and The Burbs.  But after ALOTO, he simply blew up with 12 of his next thirteen films all smash hits.  He also won back to back Oscars and was nominated for a third.  Tom Hanks had a run that no other actor had ever had and maybe never will again.  Not only were his films massive hits stateside, they loved in internationally as well and this all started with this tiny baseball comedy.

 

There are so many other terrific stories to cover but I can't mention them all, so here's a few quick ones.

 

Number eleven for the year was the best picture winner, Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven.  On a budget of 14 million, it took in 160 million WW.  Unforgiven is a revisionist Western  directed by Clint Eastwood and written by David Webb Peoples. The film portrays William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after he had turned to farming. The film stars Eastwood in the lead role, with Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris. Eastwood stated that the film would be his last Western for fear of repeating himself or imitating someone else's work.

Eastwood dedicated the movie to deceased directors and mentors Don Siegel and Sergio Leone. The film won four Academy Awards: Best Picture and Best Director for Clint Eastwood, Best Supporting Actor for Gene Hackman, and Best Film Editing for editor Joel Cox. Eastwood was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, but he lost to Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman. The film was the third Western to win the Oscar for Best Picture, following Cimarron (1931) and Dances with Wolves (1990).

In 2004, Unforgiven was added to the United States National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

 

Number thirteen was Under Siege.  This was by far Steven Seagal's biggest hit as it took in 156 million WW and at this point, Seagal had taken over for Sly and Arnold in the action department.  Arnold was still the king but Seagal was making movies at a brisker pace than he was.  

 

Number fourteen was the first Jack Ryan film to star Harrison Ford.  It a huge success taking in 178 million on a budget of 45 million.  Patriot Games is a spy thriller directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Tom Clancy's novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October. James Earl Jones is the lone holdover, reprising his role as Admiral James Greer. The cast also includes Sean Bean, Patrick Bergin, Thora Birch, Samuel L. Jackson, James Fox, and Richard Harris.  It's also fun to note that Han Solo and Darth Vader are now allies instead of adversaries.  

The film premiered in theaters in the United States on June 5, 1992 and spent two weeks as the No. 1 film.  The next installment in the film series, Clear and Present Danger, also starred Ford and Archer.

 

 

 

Alien 3 came in at number 28 domestically with 55 million but it did well WW with 160 million.  The problem was the budget which was pretty high at 50 million.  There's a fascinating story to the behind the scenes stuff which I will not get into due to time restrictions.  But basically director David Fincher was fought every step of the way by the studio.  They thought they could make a better movie than him and because of it the film suffered.  Fincher has since disowned the film because a lot of his vision was cut from the film.  Then you have Michael Biehn pissed that his character died between 2 and 3 and I agree with him on this.  William Gibson wrote a very early script treatment for the film, which was initially intended as a two-parter to be shot back-to-back. As Sigourney Weaver's involvement was in question, the main focus of this script was between Hicks and Bishop, two characters from Aliens (1986). Many consider this to be a much superior script. The only carry-over from this original script, however, is the bar-codes on the back of the convicts' necks.

 

My Cousin Vinny came in at number 29.  It grossed 53 million and newcomer and future MILF Marisa Tomei won best supporting actress for her turn as Mona Lisa Vito.  There was even a controversy at the oscars.  With Tomei's win, there were bitter miscreants who claimed that the real winner was Judy Davis from the Woody Allen film Husbands and Wives.  This was refuted vehemently by the academy...and I believe them.  Not just because Tomei deserved to win but because of the La La Land Moonlight fuck up.  The academy would not let the real winner sit in the audience.  

 

 

And finally, The Mighty Ducks came in at number 30, grossing 50 million.  The significance of this is that this film would go on to spawn a real NHL team, called the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.  They would later change their name to the Ducks but they went on to be an incredibly successful franchise winning a Stanley Cup 15 years later.  

 

This was 1992!

[baumer]

All right, hope you guys enjoy.

 

@Chaz @Cochofles @MikeQ 

[baumer]

Well, for some reason I can't tag anyone else right now.

[baumer]

@75live @Telemachos @damnitgeorge08 @narniadis @Jonwo 

[baumer]

Coming up in 1993.

 

The master kills it.  The director with a year in film that no one else can or probably will ever repeat again (ok, Cameron did this feat in 1997 but with the same movie...not quite the same)

[Dementeleus]

PATRIOT GAMES is under-appreciated. It's probably the weakest of the original Ryan trilogy but RED OCTOBER is one of the greatest Hollywood movies ever made and CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER is a truly excellent adult thriller. PG is merely very good, though it has one of the greatest tease endings ever.

[Premium George]

This is the first year where I have seen most of the mentioned films. Under seige is the only film I have not seen.

Comedy films of this year were so good.

A league of their own is the best among them. A sister act plays every week on a particular channel here.

[Chaz]

I didn't realize that so many of my favorite movies came from 1992. Catherine Trammell is a legend. 

[John Marston]

interesting that both Batman Returns and Lethal Weapon 3 were sequels to 1989 predecessors yet Lethal Weapon barely dropped and increased worldwide while Batman Returns had a massive fall domestically and worldwide 

[aabattery]

Rob Reiner had one hell of a streak in the 80-90's.

 

Also My Cousin Vinny is the best.

[Spidey Freak]

1992 is iconic af

[baumer]

Catherine Tremell is the sexiest character ever created imo.

[Subzero]

3 minutes ago, baumer said:

Catherine Tremell is the sexiest character ever created imo.

 

Oh dam, please don't remind me I still have wet dream till this day

The Interrogation was the best part of the movie period, any movie period...

I can't think of a better actress to play that character... hot dam ........

Edited July 11, 2017 by Subzero

[Kalo]

@baumer that Batman Returns write up was music to my ears, can't wait for 1994... 

Edited July 11, 2017 by Kalo