Club 50 Wrap-Up: 2002

Years Completed:
1989 | 1995 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013

2002 was a pretty standard year in the box office. Hollywood was in the middle of a lot of things. Spider Man was the second big test of the Marvel super hero brand (after X-Men). The Two Towers determined that Lord of the Rings was not going away. The Harry Potter movies were gaining steam. The middle Star Wars movie of the new trilogy came out. Scorsese moved on to a new go-to actor with Leonardo DiCaprio in Gangs of New York. While Unbreakable did fine in 2000, Signs was M. Night Shaymalan's big follow up to The Sixth Sense. Die Another Day tested the current James Bond model and The Mummy tried out The Scorpion King to see if The Rock was a star. Looking at the numbers backs up the "in-between" status as well. In the top 50, 13 movies were sequels and at least 19 have had sequels since (Yeah, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is supposedly still getting a sequel).
Of the Oscar nominees, only 3 of the 5 made the cut (The Two Towers, Chicago, Gangs of New York). The Hours (#56) was barely outside that though. Only The Pianist didn't even sniff top 50 territory (#80) - hardly a surprise.

A slightly deeper look does uncover a small trend that year. A lot of singers were getting into movies. Beyonce and Eminem made their on-screen debuts in Austin Power Goldmember and 8 Mile respectively. Lil' Bow Wow made the jump too with Like Mike. Jennifer Lopez (Maid in Manhattan) and Ice Cube (Barbershop) had already made the transition, but they still count toward the plurality.

To wind down each year as I complete them, I'm going to hand out a few superlatives or anecdotal awards to highlight some of the highs and lows of the year's top 50 box office earners.

First Seen: Spider-Man

If memory serves, it was on May 4th, 2002, a showtime a little after 8:00 PM. I saw it with my dad. It was a good night. We were part of that record breaking $114 million weekend (which looks positively quaint now*.

*In case you were wondering, it obliterated the previous record of $90 million, that had only been standing for a few months, belonging to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Before that, The Lost World: Jurassic Park ($72 million). Before that, Batman Forever ($53 million) in 1995. If you need any further proof of a change in the box office model, that opening weekend record more than doubled in only 7 years.

Last Seen: Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

I'm sorry, but there's no way that you can convince me that this is a notable movie.

Happiest Surprise: The Ring

Let's see, I was probably 15 at the time when I saw this. I hadn't really sought out horror movies that fucked with my head yet, so this kind of blew my mind. It is still one of my favorite scary movies. It only answers the questions that it has too*. This was a great introduction for me to Naomi Watts.

*The more a horror movie explains, the worse it tends to be.

Biggest Disappointment: Signs

I remember the moment that I realized that M. Night Shaymalan was a product with diminishing returns: "Swing away Merill."

Looked Better Then: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

I was tempted to put the little indie movie that could (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) in this spot. But, the fact that it is such a singular hit*. That the movie isn't all that great is almost beside the point. No, Attack of the Clones is the obvious choice. I even like the movie, but it's aged poorly. The CGI doesn't look as good as it once did, and the clunky dialogue and wooden performances stand out even more over time. Even the kickass Battle of Geonosis couldn't save its reputation a decade down the line.

*Highest grossing movie to never be #1 in the box office. Highest grossing Romantic Comedy ever. 2nd slowest movie to $200 million. It made more money than the other 373 movies IFC films has released ever - Combined - Plus $70 million. Insane!

Looks Better Now: Gangs of New York

This is continually the hardest category to pick. I was tempted to go with Insomnia for proving that Christopher Nolan wasn't lightning in a bottle (Memento). Gangs of New York struck me though. Leonardo diCaprio vs. Daniel Day-Lewis only looks better with each passing year. It's one of the more engrossing productions Scorsese has had. Seriously, this is better than a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, isn't it?

Favorite: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

My favorite of the Lord of the Rings movies. Few movies earn the description "epic" more than this one. The Battle of Helm's Deep, as far as I'm concerned, is the greatest battle sequence ever made.

2nd Favorite: The Ring

This was the first horror movie I really loved. It still freaks me out. It's why I stopped watching VHS tapes - that, and that DVD player got.

3rd Favorite: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

The one down side to The Force Awakens coming out is that I have to listen to a whole new wave of people bashing the prequels. They are flawed movies, but they're still a lot of fun. Basically everything on Geonosis is entertaining (Ok, except for battle droid C-3PO). The mystery surrounding the clones that Obi-Wan investigates is plenty interesting. Take out Anakin and Padme on Naboo and suddenly it's a much better movie.

Honorable Mention:

Spider-Man

Sam Rami got the superhero movie right with this launch of a franchise. Looking back, it seems like such a sure thing.

Minority Report

I like the Tom Cruise/Stephen Spielberg pairing. It's basically The Fugitive set in the future and I dig that.

Catch Me If You Can

I like the Tom Hank/Stephen Spielberg pairing. And let's not forget, this is the film that introduced many of us to Amy Adams.

Drumline

If anyone can explain why I've seen this movie so many times and not tired of it, I'd appreciate it. Nick Cannon, Charles Stone III, or really anyone not named Zoe Saldana have yet to follow this up with anything better.

Two Weeks Notice

Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock are two of the actors I enjoy watching the most. Of course I'm going to like one with them double headlining.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

This is the movie with the most slavish devotion to the corresponding book of any of the movies. When the source material is so strong, that's a good thing.

Gangs of New York

It's the Scorsese movie that I've come to appreciate by the most since I first saw it.

Least Favorite: About Schmidt

I'm calling it. I don't get Alexander Payne's movies. He and I, we're not on the same wave length. Also, having seen this finally, I have to wonder why more people weren't floating comparisons to this when Nebraska came out.