Son Of Dueling Movies

If you enjoyed our last installment concerning similarly-themed movies that raced one another to the multiplexes, here’s some more box-office blow-by-blows for you to ponder:

Real Genius (1985)/ Weird Science (1985)

Premise: Teenage boys dabble with science leading to dangerous results.

Overview: Real Genius, directed by Martha Coolidge, features Val Kilmer in an early role, playing older pal to 15-year-old Gabriel Jarret, who has developed a high-powered laser, but they find that their sponsoring teacher has insidious plans for the invention. In Weird Science, teens go wild courtesy of zit maestro John Hughes, as Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith try to invent the perfect woman in pouty-lipped Kelly LeBrock. Unfortunately, their curvaceous conception comes with a price.

Critical and Box-Office Consensus: Neither of these films was nominated for Oscars, but Real Genius was better received than Weird Science, which for many was a turn in a sleazier direction for teen scenester Hughes. The film did give early roles to Bill Paxton and Robert Downey, Jr., inspired a TV spinoff, and featured a popular theme song by Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo. You didn’t need outstanding math boards to give Weird Science the edge on ticket sales, with $23 million-plus to Real Genius’ $13 million.

Sweepstakes Winner: This is a close one but we’re going with the more respected Real Genius.

Antz (1998) / A Bug’s Life (1998)

Premise: A misfit CGI-animated ant battles enemies, and maybe even finds romance.

Overview: DreamWorks honcho Jeff Katzenberg, whose studio produced Antz, goes against his old employer Disney, who (with Pixar) put out A Bug’s Life. Both boast all-star voice talents: Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Lopez and Dan Aykroyd worked on Antz, while Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Madeline Kahn, and Dave Foley provided voices for A Bug’s Life.

Critical and Box-Office Consensus: Both films were well-received, but, true to form, Pixar got the edge in terms of plaudits for their work. Some critics pointed out that Antz played like an animated Woody Allen film, and they were right — as in “earlier, funnier” Woody Allen. Bug’s was king of the ant hill in terms of domestic receipts, $162 million to $93 million.

Sweepstakes Winner: A Bug’s Life by an antenna.

Capote (2005) / Infamous (2006)

Premise: Eccentric writer Truman Capote works on his classic In Cold Blood, chronicling brutal Kansas murders in the early 1960s.

Overview: This is a scenario where the movie that arrived first was a huge winner. In the case of Capote it was a very big win, resulting in Academy Awards, nominations and impressive box-office. It was issued in February 2006, but had a long theatrical run. While Infamous opened in September of that year, it barely played in theaters despite a high-profile supporting cast that included Sandra Bullock, Daniel Craig, Sigourney Weaver, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Critical and Box-Office Consensus: Capote won raves and placed on many critics’ top ten lists at year’s end, while Philip Seymour Hoffman captured the Oscar for Best Actor. Infamous, which employed British character actor Toby Jones as Capote, and took a lighter narrative tone than the Hoffman film in unfolding its story, generally impressed those critics who did take notice. Oscar cred helped the $7 million-budgeted Capote to a quite respectable $28 million take for an arthouse effort. Infamous, costing nearly twice as much at $13 million, did $1.1 million domestically.

Sweepstakes Winner: Capote, but Infamous is definitely worth a look.

The Prestige (2006) / The Illusionist (2006)

Premise: Magicians battle it out in period duels for romance and power.

Overview: In The Prestige, Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan works with his Batman Christian Bale, who plays a Victorian-era magician embroiled in a war with rival conjurer Hugh Jackman over tricks and women. Meanwhile, Neil Burger’s The Illusionist is set in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, and offers Edward Norton as the magic man obsessed with royal beauty Jessica Biel, and Paul Giamatti as the detective who dogs his tail.

Critical and Box-Office Consensus: Both movies showcased fine casts and period detail for reasonable budgets, and both pulled cash along with rabbits out of their proverbial hats. In fact, The Prestige did so well–$54 million—that it made a big name for its new distributor, Newmarket Films.

Sweepstakes Winner: Abracadabra—tie!

Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) / 1492: Conquest Of Paradise (1992)

Premise: Christopher Columbus discovers America.

Overview: For the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ birthday, Hollywood ventured to cash in on the planned gala festivities and prepared two big-budget historical adventures about the Italian explorer. Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, directed by James Bond specialist John Glen, featured unknown French actor George Corraface in the lead, and support by Tom Selleck, Rachel Ward, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Benicio Del Toro and Marlon Brando as Torquemada. Sir Ridley Scott’s 1492, which featured Gerard Depardieu as Chris and Armand Assante, Sigourney Weaver and Frank Langella in key supporting roles, was definitely the classier of the two productions.

Critical and Box-Office Consensus: Great Scott? Not! Ridley’s 1492 received some nice notices, but was generally considered uneven and often slow-moving. The Discovery—the more popcorn of the two projects, produced by the Salkinds of Superman fame and co-written by The Godfather’s Mario Puzo—received a treacherous homecoming when it docked in theaters. Both had small returns on high budgets and neither has ever been on DVD.

Sweepstakes Winner: 1492: Conquest Of Paradise by a flag.

Mission To Mars (2000) / Red Planet (2000)

Premise: Astronauts find big trouble on the way to (or on) the fourth planet.

Overview: The high-profile Mission To Mars was helmed by Brian De Palma, starred Gary Sinise, Tim Robbins and Don Cheadle, and told of a rescue journey to find a crew that has mysteriously disappeared. Red Planet, directed by newcomer Antony Hoffman, had Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss and Tom Sizemore as the crew that encounters danger while on an ecological mission.

Critical and Box-Office Consensus: Neither film obtained healthy reviews, although French magazine Cahiers du Cinema did call Mission To Mars one of the year’s best films. In fact, Red Planet’s filmmaker hasn’t received another directing assignment since the drubbing he received for that film. Mission also fared better at the box-office, with $60 million to Red Planet’s $23 million. Both budgets were sizable, in the $70-$90 million range.

Sweepstakes Winner: Mission To Mars, simply because it’s livelier and features De Palma’s crafty camerawork, over the comparatively inert Red Planet.

Come on back for our next supercard of cinematic smackdowns.