“They don’t make ‘em like they used to,” goes the common saying, and in some ways, anyone can see why.
In today’s world of franchise sequels and nostalgia-baiting reboots of older properties, studios rarely spend big bucks on starry original stories like they used to back in the 1990s. Back then, big Hollywood studios could co-exist alongside the independent film boom partly because of the amount of money they had. In the 2020s studios find it much more difficult to deal with the lure of Netflix and other streaming services.
As Wealth of Geeks’ Forgotten Blockbusters series continues, we take a look at what may eventually reveal itself as the last heyday of original blockbusters for adults: The 1990s blockbusters. If audiences of the time had already moved away from awards-bait melodramas and towards action spectacle, at least they hadn’t yet abandoned them completely. Not all of these forgotten 1990s blockbuster films deserved to become hits, but they all have at least one reason for their big box office hauls. In some cases, it’s even the same reason why they eventually fell by the wayside.
Air Force One (1997)
Box Office: $172 million
One of the most iconic moments of ‘90s cinema, Harrison Ford growling, “Get off my plane,” never fails to satisfy. And yet, this political thriller starring Ford as the US President, Glenn Close as his Vice President, and Gary Oldman as a Russian terrorist who has taken the President hostage onboard the titular plane has faded from the memories of many.
Wolfgang Petersen’s airtight actioner remains incredibly entertaining to this day. The joke at the time was that everyone would prefer Ford as President in real life, and while that may not be as true today, it’s still fun to think about.
Double Jeopardy (1999)
Box Office: $116 million
Poor Ashley Judd. The world will never know what heights her career would have reached had Harvey Weinstein not stuck his filthy fingers all over everything.
On the available evidence, though, she could have become one of the biggest box office draws of the ‘00s. In Bruce Beresford’s pulpy thriller Double Jeopardy, she plays a woman wrongfully convicted for the murder of her husband (Bruce Greenwood), whom she plans on killing for real once released from prison. Under the “double jeopardy” clause, someone cannot be convicted for the same crime twice – she already did the time, now it’s time for her to do the crime!
The grabby premise and combined star power of Judd and Tommy Lee Jones (as the parole officer doggedly trying to stop Judd from executing her plan) got audiences into theaters. Unfortunately, the age of streaming hasn’t been kind to 1990s blockbusters tailor-made for perpetual rotation on basic cable like this, and memory of the film has faded because of it.
Free Willy (1993)
Box Office: $77.7 million
A formative film for any child of the ‘90s, Free Willy hasn’t had the staying power of the Disney animated films of the time, nor even something like Hocus Pocus, which it outgrossed at the box office.
The film was so popular at the time that it spawned two sequels and an animated TV series. And yet, this perfectly judged, family-friendly tale of a young orphan who befriends a whale at an amusement park and conspires to set him free has taken its place among forgotten 1990s blockbusters. The climactic moment immortalized on the film’s poster remains one of the most cheer-worthy moments of the decade, one that will move any skeptic.
Deep Impact (1998)
Box Office: $140 million
A seven-mile-wide comet is on a collision course with Earth, and Americans put all their hope in President Morgan Freeman and his plan to alter the course of the comet with nuclear bombs.
More contemplative than the similarly-themed Armageddon, which arrived that same summer, Mimi Leder’s film may have had the higher opening weekend (it held the record for highest opening weekend box office gross for a female-directed film until Twilight in 2008), but the Michael Bay spectacle eclipsed it in terms of the zeitgeist, and few have thought of Deep Impact since.
Critics of the time reacted positively to the film’s probing questions, but while the script’s thoughts may have been deep, the film’s cultural impact was not.
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Box Office: $122 million
Tom Clancy’s novels have long since become some of Hollywood’s favorite properties to adapt. Jack Ryan remains one of the author’s most popular characters.
Most people today associate that name with John Krasinski, who plays Ryan in the Amazon Prime television series, completely forgetting that Harrison Ford played him in two ‘90s thrillers: Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. The rare sequel generally agreed upon as superior to the first, Clear and Present Danger’s unquestioning patriotism and blunt force masculinity may have played well even as late as the early 2000s. Tastes, however, have changed, relegating this movie to the halls of forgotten 1990s blockbusters.
Entrapment (1999)
Box Office: $87 million
For those alive at the time, the ad campaign for Entrapment was unforgettable, focusing tightly on Catherine Zeta-Jones as her lithe dancer’s body slinked up, down, and all around a series of lasers as she trains to pull off a difficult heist, under the watchful eye of the one and only Sean Connery.
The charged, twisty thrills make for super entertaining viewing, and the combined charisma of the two stars burns a hole in the screen. Those stars, however, don’t burn as brightly these days, thus making the film feel like a relic even among forgotten 1990s blockbusters.
City Slickers (1991)
Box Office: $124 million
Once upon a time, Billy Crystal could open a movie. Crazy, right?
That time has long since passed, but it might have been a better time, as City Slickers holds up as one of the best comedies of the decade. A fish-out-of-water story about three yuppies from New York City who go on a two-week cattle drive to escape from their mundane lives, the film primarily serves as a showcase for Crystal’s style of humor.
However, it also offers one heck of a career-capping role for Jack Palance, who won an Oscar for his performance. Some might remember the sight of Palance doing one-armed push-ups while accepting his award, but does anyone other than awards obsessives remember the movie he won it for?
Con Air (1997)
Box Office: $101 million
Nicolas Cage has had something of a renaissance in recent years, with audiences expressing a love for the actor that he hasn’t seen since his heyday in the ’90s.
Con Air, one of his biggest hits of the decade, has more clichés than even other 1990s blockbusters, but Cage’s energy infuses any project with enough chaos to lift it above cliché if the director lets it. Simon West allowed it, in a perfect choice for the material, which follows Cage’s Cameron Poe as he tries to survive the hostile takeover of a Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System plane full of violent convicts.
The film harnesses the power of Cage and his flowing locks to entertain the audience as much as possible, making for a thrilling roller coaster ride of dumb plot points and eye-popping action. After so many years of other better, wilder action films, Con Air doesn’t excite as much as it used to, but anyone who has gotten into Cage’s recent films should give it a watch.
Indecent Proposal (1993)
Box Office: $106 million
The premise would shock people in any year, but something about Indecent Proposal feels almost quaint after thirty years: Billionaire Robert Redford offers the happily married but financially struggling Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson $1 million to spend one night with her.
The buzzy nature of the film’s premise (something familiar among 1990s blockbusters, both forgotten and beloved…see below) practically ensured strong word of mouth, but when people realized there wasn’t anything all that scandalous going on, they left the film behind, moving on to the next sensationalistic shock. However, had the film starred Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as initially planned, it would undoubtedly gather more curious eyes these days.
Ransom (1996)
Box Office: $136 million
If nothing else, the marketing campaign for Ransom ensured that everyone in America heard Mel Gibson screaming, “Give me back my son!”
A meme before Internet memes even became a thing, that one moment managed to get enough people into the theaters for the film to become a huge hit – the fifth biggest of 1996. As Gibson’s stock sank over the years, so did the film’s. If we’re being honest, in a world where Taken exists, no one needs Ransom, as good as it is.
Sleeping With the Enemy (1991)
Box Office: $101 million
The “woman in peril thriller” has long been a contentious subgenre, as likely to empower women as it is to exploit them. Sleeping With the Enemy, based on a best-selling novel, had the good fortune to come out the year after star Julia Roberts went supernova with Pretty Woman, but over time it has slipped away from the limelight and into the realm of forgotten 1990s blockbusters.
The film strips the genre down to its essentials: A woman trapped in an abusive marriage fakes her own death to escape her husband, who eventually finds out and tracks her down. This bare-bones approach to genre storytelling has made the film seem almost old-fashioned, a deterrent to audiences despite Roberts’s presence.
Maverick (1994)
Box Office: $101 million
Cinematic adaptations of old TV shows littered the Hollywood landscape in the ‘90s, but Richard Donner’s Maverick may have been the most unexpected. Based on a popular but hardly classic series from the ‘50s, the western starred Mel Gibson as a con artist trying to get into a high-stakes poker game to prove he’s the best poker player alive, Jodie Foster as a fellow con artist, and original series star James Garner as a local lawman.
The film’s barriers to success – the relatively low profile of the source material, the relative unpopularity of the genre – may have doomed it to the realm of forgotten 1990s blockbusters. Still, the star power and throwback vibe were enough to make it a big hit, grossing over $100 million in the US alone.
Eraser (1996)
Box Office: $101 million
Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in a string of big-budget action flops in the late ‘90s-early ‘00s (End of Days, The 6th Day, Collateral Damage), but before that, he was one of Hollywood’s hottest leading men.
Yet another riff on The Terminator, Eraser sees Arnold starring as a US Marshall for the Witness Protection Program protecting a senior operative testifying about an illegal arms deal, played by Vanessa Williams. Both actors were at or near the peak of their popularity at the time, so audiences came out in droves. However, despite being one of the first films released on DVD, it hasn’t had much staying power, with a sequel/reboot in 2022 going direct to video with a resounding thud.
Tarzan (1999)
Box Office: $171 million
Every Disney animated film is someone’s favorite Disney film, but does anyone even remember that this 1990s blockbuster version of the popular Edgar Rice Burroughs character exists?
The most expensive animated film ever made at the time of its release, the film necessitated the development of new software for working with CGI backgrounds called Deep Canvas.
Despite the strong box office and critical reviews, the film hasn’t held up, partly because the Phil Collins songs fall flat. When the catchiest song in your movie is mostly scatting, you have problems, and the longevity of Disney animated films tends to correlate to how good their songs are. For all the technical wizardry on display, Disney’s Tarzan hasn’t proved all that memorable.
Waterworld (1995)
Box Office: $88 million
The most expensive film ever made at the time, Waterworld managed the rare feat of becoming a blockbuster that still flopped. One could roughly describe the post-apocalyptic setting as “Mad Max in the ocean,” but that turns out to be far less exciting to watch than it sounds.
The uniqueness of its setting doesn’t make up for the poor pacing. Because of that poor pacing, the film doesn’t play as well on cable, which hasn’t helped its reputation over the years. People saw it in theaters because of the buzz about its budget, but the film wasn’t strong enough on its own to stand the test of time.
Runaway Bride (1999)
Box Office: $152 million
Reuniting Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, along with their Pretty Woman director Garry Marshall, seems like a no-brainer. The problem is, Pretty Woman had the snap, crackle, and pop of an instant classic, and Runaway Bride does not.
The film tries to capture the acerbic tone of Roberts’s previous hit My Best Friend’s Wedding, but the story (about a journalist writing about a woman with a habit of leaving men at the altar) completely misjudges it, leaving Roberts and Gere stranded. Over two decades later, there’s no need to think about this forgotten 1990s blockbuster when Pretty Woman exists.
Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Box Office: $91.4 million
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comedies haven’t lasted as long in the public consciousness as his action films, but he made plenty of them. 1990’s Kindergarten Cop sees Schwarzenegger reteaming with his Twins director Ivan Reitman in a perfect high concept: A hard-as-nails police detective must go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to find the wife and child of a drug dealer.
Too tonally confused to connect fully with either children or adults, the film is indicative of numerous comedies that hit big because of a hilarious trailer that slowly faded from cultural consciousness because they couldn’t live up to it.
Backdraft (1991)
Box Office: $77.8 million
Ron Howard’s firefighter drama featured groundbreaking visual effects for 1991. The cast featured ‘90s A-listers Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Donald Sutherland, Scott Glenn, and Rebecca De Mornay, most if not all of whom have seen their stars fall in the years since.
Everything about the film screams 1991, a time before the style trends that defined the decade came into being, which limits the film’s nostalgia factor. With television series like Chicago Fire giving audiences their firefighter thrills on a regular basis, there’s no need to revisit this mid-tier piece of Hollywood product.
Big Daddy (1999)
Box Office: $163 million
Adam Sandler was big in the ‘90s, but Big Daddy has not had the staying power of his earlier hits like Happy Gilmore and The Waterboy. Sonny Koufax simply isn’t as big a personality as the other all-caps CHARACTERS Sandler played in this era, making this film less memorable on the whole than his other starring vehicles.
While the premise of Sandler misbehaving around a cute kid led this to be Sandler’s highest-grossing film domestically until 2015’s Hotel Transylvania 2, its ordinariness means it didn’t have as long a shelf life as his other films.
Dangerous Minds (1995)
Box Office: $84.9 million
Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” has far outlived the Michelle Pfeiffer vehicle that created it.
A watered-down piece of Hollywood claptrap adapted from the memoir My Posse Don’t Do Homework, Dangerous Minds follows Pfeiffer’s LouAnne Johnson, a retired Marine starting a high school teaching job in an inner city school where she must find creative ways of reaching her diverse, disadvantaged students. Overflowing with racial stereotypes, this inspirational tale connected with audiences in 1995, but it wouldn’t survive its white savior narrative if released today, even with Pfeiffer’s star power and the blessing of the real-life Johnson and her students.
The Haunting (1999)
Box Office: $91 million
Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has inspired many to adapt it over the years, and 1999 saw Twister director Jan de Bont try his hand at it. While the starry cast – Liam Neeson, Lili Taylor, Owen Wilson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones – may intrigue potential viewers, and the film’s ornate production design will make jaws drop, many of the film’s visual effects have not aged well.
On top of that, it’s nowhere near as scary or as psychologically astute as Mike Flanagan’s recent miniseries adaptation for Netflix, nor does it have the otherworldly creepy atmosphere of Robert Wise’s 1963 film adaptation starring Julie Harris.
There’s Something About Mary (1998)
Box Office: $176 million
You would think that gross-out humor would be evergreen, but the Farrelly brothers’ particularly sophomoric brand of humor hasn’t aged well, especially as regards the memorable gags in There’s Something About Mary. After all these years, the infamous “hair gel” incident still gets a reaction, but the film’s sour spirit and nasty sense of humor (not to mention the misogyny) make it much more difficult to stomach.
While the film was on everyone’s lips back in 1998 because of the boundary-pushing humor, there’s nothing to say about it these days, other than that 1998 was a different time.
The Flintstones (1994)
Box Office: $130 million
Yup, that’s right. In 1994, Hollywood made a live-action film adaptation of The Flintstones, starring John Goodman as modern stone-age blue-collar guy Fred, Elizabeth Perkins as his fashionable wife Wilma, Rick Moranis as his best friend Barney Rubble, and Rosie O’Donnell as Barney’s wife Betty.
Overblown and overstuffed in a way specific to 1990s blockbusters for kids, the production design has a hand-crafted quality that makes you long for the pre-CGI days. However, the lazy pun-filled script – which involves such kid-friendly plot points as embezzlement and extra-marital affairs – falls far below the standard set by the beloved television series, making the film’s relegation to the dustbin of history a welcome development.
John Grisham Adaptations (1993-1996)
Box Office: $158 million (The Firm), $108 million (A Time to Kill), $100 million (The Pelican Brief), $92 million (The Client),
Hollywood loved John Grisham in the ‘90s, and so did audiences. Not every Grisham adaptation became a huge hit, but the first four – The Firm and The Pelican Brief in 1993, The Client in 1994, and A Time to Kill in 1996 – all grossed over $100 million at the worldwide box office, an incredible feat in the early ‘90s.
They all attracted top talent both in front of (Sandra Bullock, Tom Cruise, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Tommy Lee Jones, Matthew McConaughey, Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Denzel Washington headlined) and behind the camera (Alan J. Pakula, Sydney Pollack, and Joel Schumacher directed), which undoubtedly helped the films’ box office receipts. Unfortunately, though, legal thrillers fell out of fashion in the movies, which ended up killing the longevity of these forgotten 1990s blockbusters.
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