10 Years Ago From July 16-18, 2010 Weekend:
July 21-23, 2000
Debuting at the top of the charts was What Lies Beneath with $29.7 million. That equals a $43.8 million weekend with today’s ticket prices. This was the last film for Harrison Ford not based on an already established franchise that made it into the triple digits for domestic gross ($155 million). His next three films, K-19: The Widowmaker, Hollywood Homicide and Firewall never even broke the $50 million mark. This was also the second to last live action film directed by Robert Zemeckis. The last was Cast Away. Also debuting at only ten million less was Pokemon: The Movie 2000 with $19.5 million and third place for the weekend.
20 Years Ago From July 16-18, 2010 Weekend:
July 20-22, 1990
Arachnophobia opened in third place with $8 million – $15 million with today’s ticket prices. Opening fourth was Navy Seals with $6.5 million, released under the Orion banner, a studio notorious for low budget action and scifi flicks. That would be $12.2 million today. A movie of Navy Seals stature will likely not be seen in theaters again. Instead they tend to go straight to video like Steven Seagal helmed films, the last of which Half Past Dead earned a measly $15.5 million total at the domestic box office in 2002.
30 Years Ago From July 16-18, 2010 Weekend:
July 18-20, 1980
Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie opened in second place with $5.2 million; edged out slightly for number one by Empire Strikes Back‘s $6.7 million in its 9th weekend. Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie would have mustered up $15.3 million with today’s ticket prices; compare that with Get Him to the Greek‘s $17.5 million opening earlier in 2010. Of course Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie ended with $41.6 million which is about $123 million today. That’s about double what Get Him to the Greek has petered out with at $60 million.