I had no idea cause i was 4 at the time,
but on June 8, 1984, both movies were showing on that friday.
Wow. That's when movies were good, and box-office were a challenge.
If i was a kid i'd probably wanna see "Gremlins" cause it's a kids flick.
even though, that whole PG13 made it seem like it wasn't for kids.
but NOWADAYS of course i'd watch "Ghostbusters".
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Huh, both movies came out the day I was born. I would pick Gremlins over Ghostbusters, though I'd go with Temple of Doom (which I think came out a couple of weeks earlier) over both.
sharewho won.
shareGhostbusters did...below are thier opening weekend grosses
#1 Ghostbusters - $13,612,564
#2 Gremlins - $12,511,000
Gremlins peaked at #2 for six weeks before falling down the Box Office charts, it would spend 16 weeks on the Box Office Top 10. Ghostbusters held the #1 spot for 7 weeks, then on its 9th week returned to the Top Spot for another week, and once again on its 15th week, spending a total of 20 weeks on the Top 10.
I wonder if Gremlins would've made more money if it was released at Christmas? This movie was made for the festive season.
Happy Trails, Hans.
Interesting point. A lot of people are busy visiting family or having family visit, or going on holiday away from the cold in the US.
I wonder if this is why Xmas movies are still being released months before actual Xmas like has been happening this year (not necessarily in cinemas).
I think it opened with Star Trek 3, but I could be wrong. I remember it was the only time I ever saw two different movies on one day, without it being a double-feature. Saw Gremlins in the afternoon with a friend, and then saw something that night with my family. I think it was Trek, but I'm not sure.
"Two tigers cannot live on the same mountain"
We were so spoilt as kids back then :-(
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Gremlins was rated PG, not PG-13. The PG-13 rating didn't exist at the time of the movie's release. In fact Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom were the two PG movies released in 1984 that were responsible for bringing about the PG-13 rating.
shareGremlins and Ghostbusters are both fantastic movies and I'd consider both of them to be two of my all-time childhood favorites (despite being born four years after their release lol).
It's hard to choose one over the other, but I think I'd pick Gremlins just slightly over Ghostbusters.
Gremlins definitely has the better sequel though. Gremlins 2 is just as good as (if not better than) the first, but Ghostbusters 2 isn't that great.
Gremlins 2 was more comedy while Gremlins was more horror/dark comedy. Karate Kid was also in the middle somewhere during the summer of 1984. It came out the same month sometime.
shareLonestar,
Possibly but probably not. December 1984 was a good month for action films as all 4 weeks #1 films were action flicks. Beverly Hills Cop came out in the second week of December and dominated until the middle of March 1985.
Gremlins probably could have done well and/or dominated for a few weeks if it came out in the middle of November. Minus the first week ( when The Terminator was #1 for it's second and last week,) no other quality films were released. It would have been a perfect time for it in hindsight. It would have gotten the time at the top it deserved and wouldn't have gone up against well regarded besides The Terminator (which didn't have the PR machine or effort put into it by Orion like WB for Gremlins.)
But for where it was and what it was up against it didn't do bad at all.
a nightmare on elm street was released in november
thank god not every movie is a citizen kane
I was born 3 years after both of those movies came out. But those two films would have made for an awesome double feature.
https://www.youtube.com/user/americanadian
Two great popcorn movies filmed from original screenplays opening on the same day. Inconceivable in 2020 (although to be fair any film opening is inconceivable now!). Let's hope we see such days again.
shareWhen you look at the history of theatrical releases some fantastic films overlapped quite a bit. It definitely feels like theatres had a greater array of superb films on show versus today where there is often only one or two films at any given time worth checking out.
When Gremlins and Ghosbusters opened the following films were still in theatres - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Romancing the Stone, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Once Upon a Time in America and Sixteen Candles.
1982 had Blade Runner and The Thing opening the same day with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Poltergeist, Rocky III, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Porky's, Grease 2 and Conan the Barbarian still in theatres.
When you look at the history of theatrical releases some fantastic films overlapped quite a bit. It definitely feels like theatres had a greater array of superb films on show versus today where there is often only one or two films at any given time worth checking out.
When Gremlins and Ghosbusters opened the following films were still in theatres - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Romancing the Stone, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Once Upon a Time in America and Sixteen Candles.
I remember seeing both in theaters, but I have no idea which was first. A bunch of us got together to go see Ghostbusters, like six of us. It was a big deal. Pretty sure I saw Gremlins with just one buddy, definitely not so much of a big deal.
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