posted
I was looking through some box office information today and I could not believe some of the most popular films of the 80s that didn't even break the top 10 box office. Granted as the decade went on films became more popular and by 1989 there were several films that made over $90 Million dollars but didn't break the top 10.
1980 in 10th place was The Blues Brothers with $57.2 Million. Another notable film that didn't break the top 10 was Caddyshack with $39.8.
1981 in 10th place was Absence of Malice with $40.7 million. This was one of the worst years at the box office with some of the lowest grossing films making into the top 10. Another notable film that didn't break the top 10 was Kathleen Turner's debut film, Body Heat, that only grossed $24.1 M.
1982 in 10th place was The Verdict with $54M. I have to say I have never seen that film. Another notable film that was The World According to Garp that only grossed $29.7.
1983 in 10th place was Risky Business with $63.5, however Vacation (61.3M) and Valley Girl ($17.3M) were no where near the top 10.
1984(One of my absolute favorite years for films) in 10th place was Splash with $69.8M. Other films that fell short of the top 10 were A Nightmare on Elm Street with $25.5M and Red Dawn with $38.3M.
1985(Another great year) in 10th place was Spies Like Us with $60M. These gems faired less at the box office: A Chorus Line $14.2M; Better Off Dead $10.2M; The Breakfast Club $51.5M; and Clue $14.6M.
1986 in 10th place was Ferris Bueller's Day Off with $70.1M. Other films not breaking top 10 were The Color of Money $52.2M; The Money Pit $54.9 and Stand by Me $52.3M.
1987 in 10th place was Dirty Dancing with $63.9M. However Innerspace $25.8; Robocop $53.4; and Spaceballs $38.1M didn't manage to break the top 10.
1988 in 10th place, and might I say I was shocked on this one, is Oliver & Company with $73.9M. I cannot say that I have seen that one either, is it a cartoon?? But these beauties didn't fair as well Bull Durham $50.8M; A Fish Called Wanda $62.4M; and Young Guns $45.6M.
1989--now here is where things start to change. In 10th place with $100M is Parenthood. This is the first year that the 10th place finish even reached the $100M mark. Other notable films that didn't break the top 10 but still had a bang up job at the box office were Field of Dreams $84.4M; When Harry Met Sally $92.8M; and Steel Magnolias $95.9M. On a side note one of my favorite movies of this year Shag only made $6.9 at the box office. I personally think it is a cult classic!
Is anyone else shocked by any of my findings???
Posts: 5319 | From: KANSAS | Registered: Sep 2003 | Site Updates: 2
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aTomiK
.... has green eyes as well....
Member # 6575
posted
Personally i think that in the 80s, every year was a great movie year.
Few notes:
1980:
Awesome to see that Stir Crazy grossed 101 million (3rd). People really had taste in 1980! Still haven´t seen top ten films 9 to 5, Private Benjamin and Smokey and the Bandit II.
1981:
Thief and Blow Out way way back in 62. and 59. Still haven´t seen top ten film The Four Seasons.
1982:
Damn E.T. was huge (359 million)! My first trip to movies was to see that film. The Sword and the Sorcerer right behind Conan the Barbarian (17 and 18)! Richard Pryor stand up film Live on the Sunset Strip grossed 36 million! It´s about time to check it out. Still haven´t seen top ten film Annie.
1983:
Biggest surprise to me was to see Mr. Mom in the top 10 (9.) with 64 million.
1984:
Weekend Pass and Hot Dog the movie ahead of The Neverending Story! ´84 was the year of T&A flicks
1985-1989 later...
Posts: 7054 | From: Finland | Registered: Feb 2008 | Site Updates: 7
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posted
Not shocked at all. You have to take into account the gross of these films adjusted for inflation and the 2015 dollar to make any meaningful comparisons. I did some research too. For example, in 1980, "Caddyshack"'s gross, adjusted for inflation, would be about $120 million in 2015 dollars, which is fantastic for an R-rated comedy, up there in "The Hangover" territory. By 1988, the inflation multiplier had dropped from a little over 3:1 to about 2:1. So even "A Fish Called Wanda," a UK import, earned over $124 million in 2015 dollars.
So of all the films that you mentioned, the only ones that I think were truly box-office flops would be "A Chorus Line," "Innerspace," "Clue," and "Shag." "A Chorus Line," which cost $27 million and made back a little over half that in North America, was a box-office disaster. I couldn't find the budget for Joe Dante's "Innerspace," but I know that it was a very expensive film (they had a 70mm release in some theatres) and also considered a box-office bomb back in the day. It is unquestioned that "Clue" tanked during its Christmas 1985 release. And while "Shag" was a low-budget film, made for $5 million, it only made $6.9. (Back in the old days, it was a general rule of thumb that a film had to make back twice its budget to cover the costs of advertising and prints.) But with the ancillary sales of "Shag" to Cinemax, Showtime, and VHS, it probably broke even.
AtomiK, "Mr. Mom" was huge in the U.S. during its theatrical release. Although most of the critics thought that it was just a TV sitcom expanded for the big screen, it was a popular and much-loved comedy and Michael Keaton's real break-out to box-office bankability.
Brian DePalma was lucky that the extraordinarily poor box office performance of "Blow Out" didn't completely derail his career. That film was ludicrously expensive for a thriller without much in the way of special effects (almost $50 million by today's standards). Most of the budget was eaten up by the huge salaries for DePalma, Travolta, and Allen, who were all super hot at the time.
[ 26. March 2015, 06:50: Message edited by: Crash ]
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