The Shawshank Redemption turns 20 this week. In its first week, it only made 727K from 33 screens. It finished with 28.3M domestic. Of course, we all know if didn’t stop there. It is currently #1 on the IMDB Top 250. It was also nominated for 7 Oscars, including for Picture, and Morgan Freeman, winning none. It also has an impressive 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.3 on IMDB. This might just be the best film ever made, or at least, that’s how IMDB users feel.
This is the 15th Anniversary of Double Jeopardy, the revenge thriller that really helped launch Ashley Judd (along with Kiss The Girls). It opened to 23.1 million, and went on to gross 116.7M domestic (a really strong multiplier), and 177M worldwide. Double Jeopardy has a 6.3 on IMDB and a 25% on Rotten Tomatoes.
We are also celebrating the 10th Anniversaries of The Forgotten and Shaun Of The Dead. The Julianne Moore frightfest opened to a strong 21M, going to 67M domestic and 117M worldwide. It only has a 5.8 on IMDB and a 31% on Rotten Tomatoes. Shaun Of The Dead, however, made less money (13.5M) but is much more beloved with an 8.0 on IMDB and a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.
This is also the 5th Anniversary of Paranormal Activity. The low budget horror fest revived the “found footage” genre. Originally, it opened to 77K on 12 screens, and eventually made 107.9M domestically, off a production budget of 15K. It has a 6.4 on IMDB and an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.