Indecent Proposal (1993)

[Flopped]

This one is interesting to me. The critics panned it. The Cinemascore was meh. It's not a thriller like Fatal Attraction or Basic Instinct - it's a sexual drama. 

 

It opened at #1 to 18.4M in April of 1993 and spent four weeks at the top, winding its US run with $106M and its global run with $267M.

 

It was a real marketing feat. The hook of the movie - would you spend one night with a billionaire for $1M? - really captured the public's imagination and caused debate.

 

 

[grim22]

 

 

 

[BoxOfficeFangrl]

The Rewatchables did an episode about this for the 30th anniversary. Was looking it up and had no idea this was based on a book that was different from the movie: the husband was Israeli, the billionaire was a sheik, and there's a sex tape of the night.

 

I can't believe it got 4 weeks at #1, must have been a slow time at the box office. It's no Fatal Attraction.

 

Indecent Proposal isn't great and is exactly the type that should be remade or turned into a limited series, if we're going to remake everything, anyway. Now, the act would have to be for way more money, the billionaire would have to be an awkward doofus tech bro or worse, and maybe it's a gay for pay situation? Or the couple is poly and happily goes on with their lives after, so the billionaire turns into a crazy stalker.

[Jake Gittes]

[filmlover]

Definitely an of-its-time box office performance fueled by real world discussion that wouldn't happen today. A controversial/daring premise backed with talent was more often than enough to create a blockbuster in the wake of Fatal Attraction during this time period (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle - a January thriller that was basically Fatal Attraction for nannies - making around $90M more than a year before this was another performance especially impressive at the time).

Edited May 16, 2023 by filmlover

[Flopped]

On 5/14/2023 at 12:02 PM, BoxOfficeFangrl said:

The Rewatchables did an episode about this for the 30th anniversary. Was looking it up and had no idea this was based on a book that was different from the movie: the husband was Israeli, the billionaire was a sheik, and there's a sex tape of the night.

 

I can't believe it got 4 weeks at #1, must have been a slow time at the box office. It's no Fatal Attraction.

 

Indecent Proposal isn't great and is exactly the type that should be remade or turned into a limited series, if we're going to remake everything, anyway. Now, the act would have to be for way more money, the billionaire would have to be an awkward doofus tech bro or worse, and maybe it's a gay for pay situation? Or the couple is poly and happily goes on with their lives after, so the billionaire turns into a crazy stalker.

 

I listened to that ep of Rewatchables. I love that they discuss older movies and movies that aren't great or even good. Because damn it, say what you will about Indecent, but that whole stretch in Vegas is as watchable as anything I've seen on film. 

 

And how gorgeous was Demi? 

 

 

[BoxOfficeFangrl]

6 hours ago, Flopped said:

 

I listened to that ep of Rewatchables. I love that they discuss older movies and movies that aren't great or even good. Because damn it, say what you will about Indecent, but that whole stretch in Vegas is as watchable as anything I've seen on film. 

 

And how gorgeous was Demi? 

 

 

I was too young to see it back then but remember the dress and the ad with "No Ordinary Love" playing all the time, and all the segments on talk shows about whether a couple would do it. It's interesting that for all the arguments about the movie, was anyone saying, "A million for a night with her...really?" She was that gorgeous, while Redford was too handsome supposedly and Woody was still kind of the sitcom goof.

 

Like, if you made this movie in 2023, whoever they got for the Demi role, someone would be arguing that the actress isn't all that hot, or she seems too young (even if she's like 30 in real life), or should be less conventional looking to prove a point.