Box Office Flashback: 1989

[claws]

DOMESTIC GROSSES #1–20

01. $251,188,924 - Batman
02. $197,171,806 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
03. $147,253,986 - Lethal Weapon 2
04. $140,088,813 - Look Who's Talking
05. $130,724,172 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
06. $118,450,002 - Back to the Future Part II
07. $112,494,738 - Ghostbusters II
08. $106,593,296 - Driving Miss Daisy
09. $100,047,830 - Parenthood
10. $095,860,116 - Dead Poets Society

11. $092,823,546 - When Harry Met Sally...
12. $086,888,546 - The War of the Roses
13. $084,355,863 - The Little Mermaid
14. $083,759,091 - Steel Magnolias
15. $071,319,526 - Christmas Vacation
16. $071,079,915 - Turner & Hooch
17. $070,001,698 - Born on the Fourth of July
18. $066,758,538 - Uncle Buck
19. $064,431,625 - Field of Dreams
20. $063,408,614 - Tango & Cash

Though a "chick flick" I always meant to watch Steel Magnolias to see what the fuss was about. Always meant to watch Driving Miss Daisy as well, but I never did. Had no interest in Dead Poets Society and I've never seen When Harry Met Sally or Born on he Fourth of July.

Wasn't a fan of Turner & Hooch or the other Cop + Dog movie K-9.

Love Parenthood and Uncle Buck.

[Doggett]

I like all those except for 3, 15 and 17.

Lots of good films there.

[JaseSF]

DOMESTIC GROSSES #1–20

01. $251,188,924 - Batman (Pretty good. Made Batman and superheroes cool again.)
02. $197,171,806 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Quite good I felt.)
03. $147,253,986 - Lethal Weapon 2 (Not too bad)
04. $140,088,813 - Look Who's Talking (I liked it. Quite funny at times.)
05. $130,724,172 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (Liked this too. Not half bad.)
06. $118,450,002 - Back to the Future Part II (Pretty good but not as good as the first)
07. $112,494,738 - Ghostbusters II (I quite liked it myself.)
08. $106,593,296 - Driving Miss Daisy (Not my thing but seems well done.)
09. $100,047,830 - Parenthood (Not half bad.)
10. $095,860,116 - Dead Poets Society (I hated this.)

11. $092,823,546 - When Harry Met Sally... (slightly overrated IMO but has some good moments.)
12. $086,888,546 - The War of the Roses (likewise)
13. $084,355,863 - The Little Mermaid (Haven't seen, not really my thing.)
14. $083,759,091 - Steel Magnolias (Haven't seen)
15. $071,319,526 - Christmas Vacation (Pretty darn funny.)
16. $071,079,915 - Turner & Hooch (I loved it honestly. Quite fun.)
17. $070,001,698 - Born on the Fourth of July (Really good movie IMO, probably Cruise's best.)
18. $066,758,538 - Uncle Buck (I really liked this. Fun and it holds up surprisingly well.)
19. $064,431,625 - Field of Dreams (Good movie if a bit overrated.)
20. $063,408,614 - Tango & Cash (Wasn't half bad IMO.)

Pretty good year for the most part I think.

[ChocolateChipCharlie]

DOMESTIC GROSSES #1–20

01. $251,188,924 - Batman
02. $197,171,806 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
03. $147,253,986 - Lethal Weapon 2
04. $140,088,813 - Look Who's Talking
05. $130,724,172 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
06. $118,450,002 - Back to the Future Part II
07. $112,494,738 - Ghostbusters II
08. $106,593,296 - Driving Miss Daisy
09. $100,047,830 - Parenthood
10. $095,860,116 - Dead Poets Society

11. $092,823,546 - When Harry Met Sally...
12. $086,888,546 - The War of the Roses
13. $084,355,863 - The Little Mermaid
14. $083,759,091 - Steel Magnolias
15. $071,319,526 - Christmas Vacation
16. $071,079,915 - Turner & Hooch
17. $070,001,698 - Born on the Fourth of July
18. $066,758,538 - Uncle Buck
19. $064,431,625 - Field of Dreams
20. $063,408,614 - Tango & Cash

Though a "chick flick" I always meant to watch Steel Magnolias to see what the fuss was about. Always meant to watch Driving Miss Daisy as well, but I never did. Had no interest in Dead Poets Society and I've never seen When Harry Met Sally or Born on he Fourth of July.

Wasn't a fan of Turner & Hooch or the other Cop + Dog movie K-9.

Love Parenthood and Uncle Buck.

Dead Poets Society is a really good movie IMO.  It's weird - I saw that movie when I was a kid, maybe 10.  And I mistook them for college kids because they seemed older.  When I watch it now, they look like high schoolers, or younger.  Because I'm almost 30 now.  Perspective is funny....

DPS also has a lot of "this guy who later went on to be that guy" actors in it, and I always enjoy watching those kinds of movies.  Knox went on to be that one guy in Sports Night (I'm always surprised he hasn't been in more stuff), Neil is now on House and has been in a bunch of other movies over the years, Ethan Hawke seems like he hasn't bathed since DPS came out in 1989, Neil's dad is Red from That 70s Show (and he's the head prison guy in FORTRESS  :) ).

I'm kinda surprised everyone hated DPS.  I'm also kidna surprised I'm the only one that has seen Steel Magnolias.....it's a chick flick but it's less offensive than most chick flicks.  Plus it always makes me think of an episode of Married with Children where Al is incapacitated in some way and the dog steps on the remote and changes the channel to Steel Magnolias.  "Julia Roberts....so sick....so brave...."   

[diamondwaspvenom]

While 1989 certainly was a great year for movies, it was also the year that brought the downfall of the giants of the slasher genre.

Case in point: 1989 gave us Friday the 13th part VIII Jason Takes Manhattan, Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. All were box office disappointments compared to the previous movies and (not surprisingly) are considered to be among the worst of the franchises.

*Sigh* It was a very sad time for slasher flicks.

Despite that, all was not lost for horror. We still got some good ones like Warlock, The Fly II (underrated in my opinion) and Howling V: The Rebirth.

[HappyGilmore]

UHF should be in the top twenty.  It's disheartening.

[akiratubo]

01. $251,188,924 - Batman
Loved it when it came out.  I like it slightly less nowadays, but I still feel it's the only seriously intended Batman movie that really works on its own terms.

02. $197,171,806 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Probably my least favorite of the original three, but still a good movie.

03. $147,253,986 - Lethal Weapon 2
Eh, it's all right.

04. $140,088,813 - Look Who's Talking
Actually enjoyed this.

05. $130,724,172 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Love it.

06. $118,450,002 - Back to the Future Part II
Hard to say if I like this one or the original more.

07. $112,494,738 - Ghostbusters II
Not anywhere near as good as the first but has its moments.

08. $106,593,296 - Driving Miss Daisy
Meh.

09. $100,047,830 - Parenthood
Is this with Steve Martin?  If so, I was expecting it to be more of a comedy.

10. $095,860,116 - Dead Poets Society
Extremely sentimental but it works.

11. $092,823,546 - When Harry Met Sally...
Eh.

12. $086,888,546 - The War of the Roses
Saw it in the theater.  Didn't really "get" it at 10 years old, never had the desire to watch it again.

13. $084,355,863 - The Little Mermaid
A fish with primate-like characteristics falls in love with a strange animal from a completely dissimilar environment.  For the sake of this strange animal, she sells her soul to the devil, is transformed into a different creature, abandons her entire species, and tries to seduce the strange animal once she finds it again.  She also gets her father turned into a piece of seaweed and enables the devil to take over all the oceans of the world.  This is some of the most $#@!ed up stuff I've ever seen.  Adulthood really messes up your appreciation of kids' movies.

14. $083,759,091 - Steel Magnolias
Maybe it's just because I'm a guy, but I had a hard time sympathizing with the Julia Roberts' character's determination to have a baby even though it meant she would probably die, and thus leave her husband a grieving, single father, and her child without a mother.

15. $071,319,526 - Christmas Vacation
The "SQUIRRRRRRRRRREL!" part was funny.

16. $071,079,915 - Turner & Hooch
Why did they kill the dog?   

17. $070,001,698 - Born on the Fourth of July
Never saw.

18. $066,758,538 - Uncle Buck
Wasn't funny.

19. $064,431,625 - Field of Dreams
It was ok.

20. $063,408,614 - Tango & Cash
Perhaps the last great 80s action movie.

[bob]

01. $251,188,924 - Batman - haven't seen this  in ages, liked it at a kid
02. $197,171,806 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - see above
03. $147,253,986 - Lethal Weapon 2 - see above
04. $140,088,813 - Look Who's Talking - I really liked this as a kid
05. $130,724,172 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids see above
06. $118,450,002 - Back to the Future Part II - see above
07. $112,494,738 - Ghostbusters II - see above
12. $086,888,546 - The War of the Roses - I saw this on TV many many moons ago and thought it was hilarous
19. $064,431,625 - Field of Dreams - I really liked this as a kid, now many years later I think I would still like it