OK, here's the final word on 1989's biggest hits - according to industry trade papers, anyway.
With receipts tallied through Christmas Day, the top 10 '89 moneymakers were:1. Batman: $251.2 million.
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: $195.5 million.
3. Lethal Weapon 2: $147.3 million.
4. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: $129.8 million.
5. Rain Man: $126 million (opened in December 1988).
6. Ghostbusters II: $111.8 million.
7. Look Who's Talking: $108 million.
8. Parenthood: $95.2 million.
9. Dead Poets Society: $94.3 million.
10. When Harry Met Sally . . . : $91.5 million.
- THE TOP 10 BOX OFFICE HITS of the '80s were:
1. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: $399 million.
2. Return of the Jedi: $263 million.
3. Batman: $251 million.
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark: $242 million.
5. Beverly Hills Cop: $234 million.
6. Ghostbusters: $220 million.
7. Back to the Future: $208 million.
8. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: $195 million.
9. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: $179 million.
10. Tootsie: $177 million.
- AND FOR YOU MASOCHISTS out there, 1989's biggest box office failures included "Casualties of War," "Blaze," "We're No Angels," "Old Gringo," "Fat Man and Little Boy," "Lock Up," "The Abyss," "Young Einstein," "Great Balls of Fire" and "Erik the Viking."
- IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD enough lists here - this is beginning to look like an Irving Wallace column - how about the biggest flops of the '80s:
"Inchon," "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen," "Ishtar," "Heaven's Gate," "The Cotton Club," "Pirates," "Rambo III," "Santa Claus," "Lion of the Desert," "Empire of the Sun" and "Once Upon A Time in America." (It should be noted, however, that though these big-budget movies did not go into the black domestically, some, such as "Rambo III," earned handsome profits overseas.)
And, just because I know you're interested, here are the top 10 horror movies of the '80s:
"Aliens," "Poltergeist," "Pet Sematary," "A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master," "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors," "The Shining," "Friday the 13th," "Friday the 13th, Part 3 in 3-D," "The Fly" and "Psycho II."
- AND FROM THE JANUARY issue of Orbit Video magazine, just what you wanted - more lists!
Here are the top 10 box office stars of the '80s, according to how much money was earned by all of their '80s movies put together:
Harrison Ford, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Jack Nicholson, John Candy, Steve Guttenberg, Danny DeVito.
Ford heads the pack by a mile, thanks to the "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" films.
But Aykroyd is No. 2 largely because his films included "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," in which he had only a brief cameo. He wasn't really instrumental in selling tickets to that picture.
No women were among the top 10, but 10 actresses who came closest were led by Kim Basinger, thanks to "Batman," and Sigourney Weaver, because of two "Ghostbusters" pictures:
Basinger, Weaver, Geena Davis, Glenn Close, Karen Allen, Debra Winger, Meg Ryan, Sean Young, Bette Midler, Kelly McGillis.
How come, you may well ask? By using the same criteria as above - Davis had a small role in "Tootsie" and co-starred in "The Fly," Allen was in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," Winger co-starred in "An Officer and a Gentleman," Young was in "Stripes," and both Ryan and McGillis were in "Top Gun."
The only ones I'd have guessed from that list were Close - in both "Fatal Attraction" and "The Big Chill" - and Midler - who has had a string of hits for Disney/Touchstone.
The real surprise, however, is that Kathleen Turner, whose films included "Romancing the Stone," "Body Heat" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," is nowhere in sight. (Actually, she came in 11th.)
But the list Orbit compiled that I found most interesting was labeled "Hardest Working," actors who appeared in the most films during the '80s.
Would you believe John Candy was No. 1? He appeared in 17 films from 1981 through 1989. Second was Gene Hackman, with 16 films. Steve Guttenberg, Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning and Dan Aykroyd each made 15. Michael Caine made 14. Wilford Brimley appeared in 13 films. And Christopher Lloyd and John Hurt each made 12.
- WHYZIT AN INVITATION was mailed from a Denver ad agency to your friendly neighborhood film critic for a Dec. 13 preview of "We're No Angels" but didn't arrive until Dec. 22?
Some elementary sleuthing revealed that, according to the postmark, the invitation wasn't mailed until Dec. 19.
I'm watching for an invitation to a preview of "Tango & Cash" any day now.
- BY THE WAY, IF YOU are among the millions of people who went to see "Tango & Cash," despite warnings from critics across the country that you shouldn't, you probably got a double laugh from a newspaper headline that shows up in the final scene.
At the end of the film the front page of a newspaper is shown, with its lead story screaming this headline:
"Tango and Cash heroes again."
But if you look to the right of that story you'll see another front-page headline:
"Pay no attention to critics."
If you're a Sylvester Stallone fan and know how often his movies are dismissed by film critics, you probably enjoyed that inside joke immensely.
As it is, the film is a hit, and Stallone is no doubt, to coin a cliche, laughing all the way to the bank.
- DID YOU SEE THE story about Zsa Zsa Gabor being fired from a new film because she allegedly was overheard making a disparaging remark about the Saudi Arabian prince who is financing the picture?
So, the film, a $50 million production titled "A Whisper in the Wind," will go into production without Zsa Zsa.
What I want to know is where can we write to the prince to thank him?
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Joan Rivers, whose 1978 off-the-wall "Rabbit Test," which critics described as low-budget Mel Brooks material, was a box office flop, was interviewed in the Dec. 11 issue of Us magazine:
"You wouldn't have had `Animal House,' `Airplane!' or `The Naked Gun' without `Rabbit Test.' We were the first to do all that kind of stuff."
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK II: Danny DeVito, on the trials of both acting in and directing "The War of the Roses," interviewed for American Film magazine's September issue:
"It's miserable because I have to deal with me. Other than that, I enjoy it. A lot of people don't like to look at themselves in dailies or even on the screen. But I like to look at myself. I've got an ego that you can't fit in this room. So, since I love me so much, I can tolerate even the worst work."