Box Office
How did this due financially, I mean I think the 80s crowd probably ate it up but I'm not sure. So can anyone tell me how much its budget was and how much it made?
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Plus Mickey Rourke was never a huge box office draw.
Are you sure about that?
"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino share
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I didn't say he was a bad actor.
I wasn't equating acting ability with box office numbers.
I happen to think that Rourke's 80's period is, on the whole, pretty mediocre. He had his moments (this film features a great performance), but the only great movie he had under his belt was, in my opinion, Diner, which was an ensemble project and not a star-vehicle.
I just saw The Wrestler, and Rourke's performance was, simply, incredible. But I'm a loss for words when it comes to the esteemed reputation he acquired in the 80's. I just don't see proof of all this "new Brando" jargon.
Anyways, I digress. I was under the assumption, which doesn't seem to be erroneous, that Rourke was immensely popular in the 80's; this puzzles me that he "wasn't a box office draw", or that his films performed merely decently, given his star-power.
Perhaps you can offer an explanation for that.
P.S. Speaking of Bruce Willis, Rourke's likeness in this film to Willis was uncanny. I'd say it's a safe bet to wager that Willis patterned some of his later roles off Rourke here.
"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino share
1987 was an incredible year for Rourke, giving 3 phenomenal performances playing 3 totally different characters in "Angel Heart", "A Prayer for the Dying" and "Barfly". Yes, Michael Douglas's Oscar-winning performance in "Wall Street" that year was incredible, but Rourke's work in any of those film was superior.
shareYes indeed jacksommersby. And I really liked this on too.
shareit really bombed in august of 85. it was summer. and it seemed like a film that would have came out in the fall.. I remember reading a review in the paper the day it came out and the reviwer gave it 1 star.
shareit really bombed in august of 85. it was summer. and it seemed like a film that would have came out in the fall.. I remember reading a review in the paper the day it came out and the reviwer gave it 1 star.That's only partly true. The movie made money, and was a mild success. The problem is that it never broke even in the US alone. Probably half of its success came from overseas (the film was a hit in Europe and Hong Kong). While that's true for most US films, common sentiment seems to be that a movie has to make its money back in the States alone to count as a genuine success (a notion that's becoming more and more ridiculous as time goes on). But DeLaurentiis didn't lose any money, and even recommended Cimino to Gladden Entertainment for The Sicilian. But the money-men might not have considered the return big enough to be worth the effort, especially considering the costs Cimino/DeLaurentiis incurred with their massive sets. share