Email here for additions & corrections.

Ishtar
(May, 1987)
The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (OOP)
(Ross, 1976)
The Devils
(Russell, 1974)
The Pirates of Penzance
(Papp/Leach, 1983)
The Fortune
(Nichols, 1975)
-30-
(Webb, 1959)
Betrayal
(Jones, 1983)
Play It As It Lays
(Perry, 1972)
The Outfit
(Flynn, 1973)
Alex in Wonderland
(Mazursky, 1969)
The Legend of Lylah Clare
(Aldrich, 1968)
In The Cool of the Day
(Stevens, 1963)
That Cold Day in the Park
(Altman, 1969)
Thumb Trippin'
(Masters, 1972)
Midas Run
(Kjellin, 1969)
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1973)
Brewster McCloud
(Altman, 1972)
Outcast of the Islands
(Reed, 1951)

Reader Submissions
1930's-1950's
The Moon's Our Home
(Seiter, 1936)
Sh! The Octopus
(McGann, 1937)
The Mating Season
(Leisen, 1951)
Bad for Each Other
(Rapper, 1953)
The Phenix City Story
(Karlson, 1955)
Run of the Arrow
(Fuller, 1956)
House of Secrets
(Green, 1956)
Saint Joan
(Preminger, 1957)
Macabre
(Castle, 1958)
The Fiend Who Walked the West
(G. Douglas, 1958
Five Gates to Hell
(Clavell, 1959)
1960's
Key Witness
(Karlson, 1960)
Summer and Smoke
(Glenville, 1961)
The Chapman Report
(Cukor,1962)
Bachelor Flat
(Tashlin, 1962) [on Hulu]
The L Shaped Room
(Forbes, 1963)
The Chalk Garden
(Neame, 1964)
A Thousand Clowns
(Coe, 1965)
You're a Big Boy Now
(Coppola, 1966)
The Whisperers
(Forbes, 1967)
Dark of the Sun
(Cardiff, 1968)
Skidoo
(Preminger, 1968)
Last Summer
(Perry, 1969)
The Comic
(C. Reiner, 1969)
1970-1974
The Revolutionary
(Williams, 1970)
The Landlord
(Ashby, 1970)
Diary of a Mad Housewife
(Perry, 1970)
Tropic of Cancer
(Strick, 1970)
I Never Sang for My Father
(Cates, 1970)
Sometimes a Great Notion
(Newman, 1971)
Marriage of a Young Stockbroker
(Turman, 1971)
The Music Lovers
(Russell, 1971)
Drive, He Said
(Nicholson, 1971)
The Steagle
(Sylbert, 1971)
The Last Movie
(Hopper, 1971)
Made For Each Other
(Bean, 1971)
The Day the Clown Cried
(Lewis, 1972)
Hickey & Boggs (OOP)
(Culp, 1972)
The Carey Treatment
(Edwards, 1972)
Pete 'n' Tillie
(Ritt, 1972)
Slither
(Zieff, 1973)
Man on a Swing
(Perry, 1974)
Open Season
(Collinson, 1974)
The Tamarind Seed
(Edwards, 1974)
Law and Disorder
(Passer, 1974)
Homebodies
(Yust, 1974)
Stardust
(Apted, 1974)
Celine and Julie Go Boating
(Rivette, 1974)
1975-1979
Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins
(Richards, 1975
At Long Last Love
(Bogdanovich, 1975)
Hearts of the West
(Zieff, 1975)
Welcome to L.A.
(Rudolph, 1976)
W.C. Fields and Me
(Hiller, 1976)
Citizens Band
(Demme, 1977)
Twilight's Last Gleaming
(Aldrich, 1977)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
(Brooks, 1977)
Girlfriends
(Weill, 1978)
Movie Movie
(Donen, 1978)
The Medusa Touch
(Gold, 1978)
American Hot Wax
(Mutrux, 1978)
Hot Stuff
(DeLuise, 1979)
Scavenger Hunt
(Schultz , 1979)
Players
(Harvey, 1979)
Rich Kids
(Young, 1979)
Nightwing
(Hiller, 1979)
Screams of a Winter's Night
(Wilson, 1979
When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?
(Katselas, 1979
1980's
Resurrection
(Petrie, 1980)
The Awakening
(Newell, 1980)
Simon
(Brickman, 1980)
God's Angry Man
(Herzog, 1980)
Fast-Walking
(Harris, 1982)
Twice Upon a Time
(Korty & Swenson, 1983)
Trouble in Mind
(Rudolph, 1985)
When the Wind Blows
(Murikami, 1986)
Housekeeping
(Forsyth, 1987)
The Glass Menagerie
(Newman, 1987)
Patty Hearst
(Schrader, 1988)
Drowning by Numbers
(Greenaway, 1988)
Haunted Summer
(Passer, 1988)
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
(Spheeris, 1988)
1990's
Old Times
(Curtis, 1991)
Prospero's Books
(Greenaway, 1991)
City of Hope
(Sayles, 1991)
The Baby of Macon
(Greenaway, 1993)
King of the Hill
(Soderbergh, 1993)
Dadetown
(Hexter, 1995)
SubUrbia
(Linklater, 1997)

Upcoming

January 8

Bitch Slap

Waiting for Armageddon

Wonderful World

Youth in Revolt

January 15

January 22

Drool

Extraordinary Measures

The Girl on the Train

Semantics

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"So since The Hangover has now been crowned #1 for last weekend with a take of $44 million, don't you think it's time to retire its status as a sleeper hit?," a publicist friend asks. "This is all semantics but hasn't it entered the realm of a straight-up blockbuster? To me, the all-time sleeper hit is While You Were Sleeping, which in the spring of '95, never took in over 11 million on any single weekend on its way to an $81 million cume. The Hangover is certainly a surprise hit, but I don't think anyone has been sleeping on it for quite a while."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 9, 2009 at 11:01 AM

comment #1

Mark says ...

Agreed. Any Sleeper has to be a slow burn. You are never wowed by any one weekend gross, but when you look at the overall run, you say holy shit. In the modern era and excluding Oscar boosts, Something About Mary is the kingshit. Opened at No. 4 with $13 milliion, and was No. 1 in week 8 with $11 million. $176M total.

Posted by Mark at June 9, 2009 11:21 AM

comment #2

Josh Massey says ...

I think a big opener can be a sleeper hit, but it has to be a surprise big opener - Paul Blart and Taken would certainly qualify from this year. But people have been talking about The Hangover for MONTHS. It is most definitely not a "sleeper" anything.

The all-timers, I would think, are Ghost and (as much as I loathe every frame) My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Posted by Josh Massey at June 9, 2009 11:41 AM

comment #3

actionman says ...

The first Scream is the textbook definition of the term "sleeper hit" being applied to a movie. Didn't tht film gross like $8 million opening weekend, only to do $16 million in its second weekend? Or something like that...?

Posted by actionman at June 9, 2009 11:42 AM

comment #4

JeffK says ...

"Big Fat Greek" is the definitely the textbook sleeper. That film was in theaters for close to a year. More recently, I think Slumdog spent a good four months before it reached $100 mil. Hangover is no sleeper, although I was surprised how well it did considering how lukewarm the trailers for the film are, not to mention the R rating.

Posted by JeffK at June 9, 2009 11:52 AM

comment #5

Josh Massey says ...

Because I'm bored at work...

Scream did $6.4 million in its first week, $9.1 in its second, $10.0 in its third. Still outstanding, especially for a horror film.

Greek Wedding's biggest weekend came it its 20th week - $14.8, one of only four $10+ frames. It closed with over $240.

So I guess My Life In Ruins still has a shot...

Posted by Josh Massey at June 9, 2009 12:05 PM

comment #6

Josh Massey says ...

"Week" = "weekend," as far as Scream goes.

Posted by Josh Massey at June 9, 2009 12:06 PM

comment #7

Geoff says ...

"Why do you want to know my name?"

"Because I want to know who I'm looking at."

OMFG that was like soooo totally scary. Like totally.

Posted by Geoff at June 9, 2009 12:13 PM

comment #8

Jay T. says ...

There's Something About Mary never reached the top spot until something like it's 10th week in theaters.

Posted by Jay T. at June 9, 2009 12:28 PM

comment #9

heybub1 says ...

Similar but different. . . would Titanic be considered a sleeper "blockbuster"? I think its opening weekend was 29 million and except for occasional spurts (big take on Valentine's Day '97, I believe) never had a HUGE weekend -- it just consistently hit 25 - 30 million every weekend. For, like, 6 months.

Posted by heybub1 at June 9, 2009 1:57 PM

comment #10

dangovich says ...

Titanic--41 weeks, opened 12/97 at $28.6 mil, peaked at $36 mil its 6th weekend, sagged a bit and then bumped back up to $33 mil five weeks later. Still had some spasms of life in April and May of '98.

Posted by dangovich at June 9, 2009 2:15 PM

comment #11

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

I'm not really a box-office kinda guy at all.

Buuuuut that Titanic run was pretty damn impressive. When's the last time a movie was listed in the weekend BO champs -- let alone at #1 -- for an entire season?

Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum at June 9, 2009 4:55 PM