Top Ten Box Office Hits of 1987

The year was 1987.

 

In World News: In Lebanon, American hostage, William Buckley, was reported slain, Iraqi missiles killed 37 on the US frigate "Stark" in the Persian Gulf (Iraqi President Hussein apologized the next day), and Prime Minister Thatcher won a rare third term in Britain.

 

In US News: The Iran-Contra affair heated up... Oliver North, Jr. told the Congressional inquiry that higher officials approved his secret Iran-Contra operations, former National Security Advisor Admiral John M. Poindexter testified he authorized use of Iran arms sale profits to aid Contras, George P. Schultz said he was deceived repeatedly on the Iran-Contra affair, Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger told inquiry of official deception and intrigue, and President Reagan said the Iran arms-Contra policy went astray and accepted responsibility for it.

 

In Sports News: The New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos 39-20 in the Super Bowl, Minnesota defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 3 in the World Series, and the LA Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Championship.

 

In other news: Though African, Latin American and other genres of international music had been around for centuries, a group of small, London-based labels coined the term "world music," which helped record sellers find rack space for the eclectic music.  Also, "Thirtysomething" debuted on ABC and departed from typical dramas, featuring analytical, self-absorbed baby-boomer characters.

At the Box Office were the premieres of such well known films as "Light of Day", "Fatal Beauty", "Less Than Zero", "The Pick-Up Artist", "Hellraiser", "Flowers in the Attic", "Masters of the Universe", "Project X", "Some Kind of Wonderful", "Empire of the Sun", "Raising Arizona", "Black Widow", "Innerspace", "Baby Boom", "Overboard", "Harry and the Hendersons", "The Princess Bride", "The Lost Boys", "Spaceballs", "Roxanne", "Mannequin", "Wall Street", "Full Metal Jacket", "Planes, Trains and Automobiles", "The Living Daylights", "Robocop", "La Bamba", "Predator", and "Dirty Dancing".

 

That being said, what do you think were the Top Ten Box Office Hits of 1987?  The following is the countdown including a brief synopsis of each film...

 

 

10.

 

Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted - at a cost - when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives.  Directed by George Miller, "The Witches of Eastwick" was nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Sound (it won neither) and was also nominated for and won the BAFTA for Best Special Effects.  Interestingly enough, it was snubbed at the Golden Globes.  This film starred Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Michelle Pfeiffer and co-starred Veronica Cartwright and Richard Jenkins.  At the Box Office it snuck past "Dirty Dancing" and grossed $63,766,510 ("Dirty Dancing" grossed $63,446,382).

 

 

9.

 



A veteran cop, Murtaugh, is partnered with a young suicidal cop, Riggs.  Both have one thing in common: They hate working in pairs.  Now they must learn to work with one another to stop a gang of drug smugglers.  The first of four in its series, "Lethal Weapon" starred Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitch Ryan, and Tom Atkins.  It shot in over $65.2 million at the Box Office.
 
 
8. 

 

Two cops, Chris and Bill, are given the 'dirty' job of staking out the home of an escaped convict's ex-girlfriend.  Chris and the beautiful girlfriend accidentally meet and fall in love... which complicates things.  A fun cop comedy, "Stakeout" starred Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Madeleine Stowe, and Aidan Quinn, and co-starred Dan Lauria and Forest Whitaker.  At the Box Office it took in more than $65.6 million.

 

 

7.

 

A talented young man can't get an executive position without rising through the ranks, so he comes up with a shortcut... which also benefits his love life.  "The Secret of My Succe$s" starred Michael J. Fox, Helen Slater, Richard Jordan, Margaret Whitton, and John Prankow.  The film successfully earned over $66.9 million at the Box Office.

 

 

6.

 

Federal agent Elliot Ness assembles a personal team of mob fighters to bring Chicago crime boss Al Capone to justice using unconventional means during the mob wars of the 1920s.  Directed by Brian de Palma, "The Untouchables" was nominated for four Academy Awards and winner of one: Best Supporting Actor, Sean Connery, who also won a Golden Globe for his performance.  The musical score for the film won a BAFTA.  Based on the popular television series which ran for almost five years (1959-1963), this film version starred Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith.  At the Box Office, it earned over $76.2 million.

 

 

5.

 

Loretta Castorini, a book keeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she agreed to marry (the best friend of her late husband who died seven years previously).  A Norman Jewison film, "Moonstruck" won three of its six Oscar nominations: Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (Olympia Dukakis), and Best Actress (Cher).  Both women also won Golden Globes for their performances.  At the BAFTAs, the film was nominated for four awards, but won none of its nominations.  This splendid and delightful romantic comedy grossed over $80.6 million at the Box Office.

 

 

4.

 



An unorthodox and irreverent DJ begins to shake up things when he is assigned to the US Armed Services Radio station in Vietnam.  In this film directed by Barry Levinson, Robin Williams was nominated for an Oscar and won the Golden Globe for his performance.  Along with Robin Williams, "Good Morning, Vietnam" starred Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran (his first and only film), and Chintara Sukapatana, and co-starred Bruno Kirby, Robert Wuhl, J. T. Walsh, and Noble Willingham.  Robin Williams' often unscripted humor helped this film laugh past its competition as it grossed over $123.9 million at the Box Office.


3.

 

Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to help Taggart and Rosewood investigate Chief Bogamil's near-fatal shooting and the series of "alphabet crimes" associated with it.  "Beverly Hills Cop II" had Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, and Ronny Cox reprising their roles, but it also starred Jurgen Prochnow and Brigitte Nielsen.  Directed by Tony Scott, this film's music was nominated for various awards and won a couple, but (brace yourself) it also won a Razzie for George Michael's song, "I Want Your Sex" (what were they thinking?!?).  The sequel to its 1984 #1 Box Office hit, it took in over $153.6 million at the Box Office.

 

 

2.

 

A married man's one night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.  Directed by Adrian Lyne, "Fatal Attraction" was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Anne Archer), Best Actress (Glenn Close), and Best Picture.  However, it didn't win any of those Oscars.  It was also nominated for two BAFTAs (winning for Best Editing) and four Golden Globes for which it again came up empty-handed.  This film that made married men think twice -- even three times -- before cheating on their wives starred Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, and Anne Archer.  At the Box Office, it brought in over $156.6 million.

 

 

1.

 





Three bachelor friends - architect Peter, artist Michael, and actor Jack are sharing an apartment in Manhattan. After Jack goes filming in Turkey his two flatmates find his baby daughter - which Jack doesn't know about - left outside their door. The two are left to look after the baby, and realize how difficult this can be.  Directed by Leonard Nimoy (yes... the guy who played Spock in the "Star Trek" TV shows and movies), "Three Men and a Baby" starred Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson and co-starred Nancy Travis, Margaret Colin, and Alexandra Amini.  At the Box Office, the humorous film earned over $167.7 million.

 

 

And now you know.

 

Did you notice?  The Academy Award winning picture was not among the Top Ten Box Office Hits of 1987.  That film, "The Last Emperor", was ranked #25 out of 100 released that year.  Perhaps being released to only 877 theaters had something to do with it.  When it premiered on November 20th, its competition was a re-issue of "Cinderella", "Nuts" starring Barbra Streisand and Richard Dreyfuss, "Flowers in the Attic", and "Teen Wolf Too", all of which were released on the same day.  Then again, it could very well be the releases of "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" and "Three Men and a Baby" knocked "The Last Emperor" out of the water as those two films premiered just five days later.  In the end, "The Last Emperor" -- the underdog film -- was the ultimate dominating winner at the Academy Awards as it won all nine Oscars it was nominated for.

 

At any rate, more I'll continue blogging on many of the films I've mentioned here in time.  For now, you can find my posts of "Three Men and a Baby", "Good Morning, Vietnam", "The Witches of Eastwick", "Spaceballs", "Some Kind of Wonderful", and "Less Than Zero" somewhere in the column to the right of this page.

 

Until next time... Cheers!