r/boxoffice • u/SanderSo47 A24 • Sep 11 '22
Original Analysis CinemaScore Analysis – 1988 Edition
Link to the other editions:
1980s: 1982 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989
1990s: 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999
*2000s: 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009
2010s: 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019
2020s: 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023
In this post, I kept track of every 1988 movie's CinemaScore (at least, the ones that got it). I plan to post for each subsequent year until 2022, all posted during the weekends. My intention is to see the evolution of each year and how the grades can either help or damage a movie's legs.
I plan to delve into each year and each movie that got a grade. While CinemaScore was founded in 1979, we didn't get a grade until 1982 and we didn't get full information until 1986.
Before starting, some notes:
This list is based on multipliers/legs. In this case, domestic total/domestic opening weekend = multiplier/legs.
The opening weekend is based on its first wide release (600+ theaters).
If a movie never makes it past 600 theaters, then its biggest weekend number will be used.
The figures are all taken from The Numbers and Box Office Mojo.
Despite that, there's some missing data on the number of weeks a movie spent in theaters. Some movies here stopped reporting weekend totals after just 2 weeks or even just one. Thankfully, their domestic totals are still intact so we still have their final domestic number. Just note that the amount of weeks do not fully represent the movie's run.
In 1988, 102 movies received CinemaScores (1987 had 103). How did it go?
A+
Yipee-ki-yay, only one movie (0.98%) managed to get the rare A+. Generally, this indicates exceptional word of mouth and guarantees a long and healthy run. Of course, the bigger a movie opens, the weaker legs will turn out to be. This movie averaged a 11.49x multiplier. In comparison, 1987 had one movie with a 6.89x average multiplier.
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Weeks in theaters | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Die Hard | Jul/15 | Fox | $7,105,514 | $81,675,242 | $35M | 31 | 11.49x |
A
13 movies (12.74%) managed to get the grade. A step down from the rare A+, but it still indicates strong word of mouth. These movies averaged a 10.37x multiplier. In comparison, 1987 had 8 movies with a 9.96x average multiplier.
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Weeks in theaters | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rain Man | Dec/16 | MGM | $7,005,719 | $172,825,435 | $25M | 27 | 24.66x |
| 2 | Big | Jun/3 | Fox | $8,216,190 | $114,968,774 | $18M | 35 | 13.99x |
| 3 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Jun/22 | Disney | $11,226,239 | $154,112,492 | $50M | 32 | 13.72x |
| 4 | A Fish Called Wanda | Jul/15 | MGM | $4,801,140 | $63,493,000 | $7.5M | 16 | 13.22x |
| 5 | Stand and Deliver | Mar/11 | Warner Bros. | $1,120,596 | $13,994,920 | $1.6M | 7 | 12.48x |
| 6 | Beaches | Dec/21 | Disney | $5,160,258 | $57,041,866 | $20M | 26 | 11.05x |
| 7 | Mississippi Burning | Dec/9 | Orion Pictures | $3,545,305 | $34,603,000 | $15M | 9 | 9.76x |
| 8 | Midnight Run | Jul/20 | Universal | $5,506,290 | $38,413,606 | $35M | 5 | 6.98x |
| 9 | Running on Empty | Sep/9 | Warner Bros. | $454,164 | $2,835,116 | $7M | 6 | 6.24x |
| 10 | Gorillas in the Mist | Sep/23 | Universal | $4,042,940 | $24,720,479 | $22M | 7 | 6.11x |
| 11 | Coming to America | Jun/29 | Paramount | $21,404,420 | $128,152,301 | $36M | 12 | 5.99x |
| 12 | Clara's Heart | Oct/7 | Warner Bros. | $965,933 | $5,194,491 | N/A | 4 | 5.37x |
| 13 | Tucker: The Man and His Dream | Aug/12 | Paramount | $3,709,562 | $19,652,638 | $24M | 4 | 5.30x |
A–
17 movies (16.66%) managed to get the grade. Generally, word of mouth will be good and indicates audiences like the movie, their expectations were met and nothing more. These movies averaged a 12.00x multiplier. In comparison, 1987 had 21 movies with a 9.46x multiplier.
NOTE: Of course, Bird's multiplier elevates this (it had only one single weekend database, so it was the only number I could use). If we exclude it, these movies averaged a 7.72x average multiplier.
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Weeks in theaters | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bird | Sep/30 | Warner Bros. | $27,116 | $2,181,286 | $14M | 2 | 80.44x |
| 2 | Working Girl | Dec/21 | Fox | $4,718,485 | $63,779,477 | $28M | 19 | 13.51x |
| 3 | Dominick and Eugene | Mar/18 | Orion Pictures | $280,763 | $3,076,031 | $5M | 2 | 10.95x |
| 4 | Torch Song Trilogy | Dec/14 | New Line Cinema | $452,966 | $4,865,997 | $1.8M | 7 | 10.74x |
| 5 | Twins | Dec/9 | Universal | $11,174,980 | $111,936,388 | $18M | 10 | 10.01x |
| 6 | The Milagro Beanfield War | Mar/18 | Universal | $1,464,450 | $13,825,794 | $22M | 4 | 9.44x |
| 7 | Crossing Delancey | Sep/16 | Warner Bros. | $1,837,058 | $16,262,415 | $14M | 10 | 8.85x |
| 8 | The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | Dec/2 | Paramount | $9,331,746 | $78,041,829 | $12M | 10 | 8.36x |
| 9 | The Accused | Oct/14 | Paramount | $4,316,369 | $32,078,318 | $13M | 8 | 7.43x |
| 10 | Willow | May/20 | MGM | $8,300,169 | $57,269,863 | $35M | 7 | 6.90x |
| 11 | Big Business | Jun/10 | Disney | $6,112,577 | $40,150,487 | $20M | 4 | 6.57x |
| 12 | Young Guns | Aug/12 | Fox | $7,011,393 | $44,726,644 | $11M | 8 | 6.38x |
| 13 | Biloxi Blues | Mar/25 | Universal | $7,093,325 | $43,184,798 | $20M | 10 | 6.09x |
| 14 | Short Circuit 2 | Jul/6 | TriStar Pictures | $3,843,067 | $20,882,000 | $15M | 2 | 5.43x |
| 15 | Return to Snowy River | Apr/15 | Disney | $3,023,248 | $13,687,027 | $8.7M | 2 | 4.53x |
| 16 | A Cry in the Dark | Nov/11 | Warner Bros. | $1,561,793 | $6,908,797 | $15M | 2 | 4.42x |
| 17 | Punchline | Oct/7 | Columbia | $5,206,592 | $21,032,000 | $15M | 6 | 4.04x |
B+
23 movies (22.54%) managed to get the grade. This is where things get interesting. Generally, it indicates average word of mouth. The audience didn't love it, but didn't hate it. For some niche movies, this should be a fine score. But for IP-driven movies, this should be concerning as fans are more biased to the movie itself. These movies averaged a 5.21x multiplier. In comparison, 1987 had 24 movies with a 5.47x average multiplier.
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Weeks in theaters | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dangerous Liaisons | Dec/16 | Warner Bros. | $2,840,201 | $34,670,720 | $14M | 19 | 12.20x |
| 2 | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Dec/14 | Orion Pictures | $3,840,498 | $42,039,000 | N/A | 7 | 10.94x |
| 3 | Bull Durham | Jun/15 | Orion Pictures | $5,009,307 | $50,888,729 | $9M | 6 | 10.15x |
| 4 | Without a Clue | Oct/21 | Orion Pictures | $1,246,772 | $8,539,181 | $9M | 4 | 6.84x |
| 5 | The Great Outdoors | Jun/17 | Universal | $6,121,115 | $41,455,230 | $24M | 4 | 6.77x |
| 6 | Cocktail | Jul/29 | Disney | $11,789,466 | $78,222,753 | $20M | 12 | 6.63x |
| 7 | Tequila Sunrise | Dec/2 | Warner Bros. | $6,350,974 | $39,703,427 | $23M | 9 | 6.25x |
| 8 | Things Change | Oct/21 | Columbia | $600,809 | $3,527,886 | N/A | 2 | 5.87x |
| 9 | Shoot to Kill | Feb/12 | Disney | $5,781,628 | $29,300,090 | $15M | 6 | 5.06x |
| 10 | Scrooged | Nov/23 | Paramount | $13,027,842 | $59,450,353 | $32M | 10 | 4.56x |
| 11 | Crocodile Dundee II | May/25 | Paramount | $24,462,976 | $109,306,210 | $14M | 8 | 4.47x |
| 12 | Clean and Sober | Aug/10 | Warner Bros. | $2,205,628 | $8,674,093 | $12M | 2 | 3.93x |
| 13 | The Presidio | Jun/10 | Paramount | $5,119,031 | $20,036,000 | N/A | 4 | 3.91x |
| 14 | Action Jackson | Feb/12 | Lorimar | $5,424,783 | $20,257,000 | $7M | 5 | 3.73x |
| 15 | Everybody's All-American | Nov/4 | Warner Bros. | $3,425,796 | $12,638,294 | $22M | 3 | 3.69x |
| 16 | For Keeps | Jan/15 | TriStar Pictures | $4,839,790 | $17,514,553 | N/A | 4 | 3.61x |
| 17 | Cocoon: The Return | Nov/23 | Fox | $5,568,143 | $18,924,919 | $17.5M | 10 | 3.40x |
| 18 | Vice Versa | Mar/11 | Columbia | $4,050,779 | $13,664,060 | $10M | 3 | 3.37x |
| 19 | Rambo III | May/25 | TriStar Pictures | $16,745,418 | $53,715,611 | $63M | 4 | 3.21x |
| 20 | A New Life | Mar/25 | Paramount | $2,505,092 | $7,721,851 | $12M | 2 | 3.08x |
| 21 | Memories of Me | Oct/7 | MGM | $1,388,123 | $3,965,000 | $12M | 3 | 2.86x |
| 22 | Arthur 2: On the Rocks | Jul/8 | Warner Bros. | $5,150,962 | $14,681,192 | N/A | 2 | 2.85x |
| 23 | Heartbreak Hotel | Sep/30 | Disney | $2,063,546 | $5,509,417 | $13M | 2 | 2.67x |
B
24 movies (23.52%) managed to get the grade. Another step down, which indicates word of mouth to be below average or middling. It could still hold on pretty well, but it's not guaranteed. These movies averaged a 4.09x multiplier. In comparison, 1987 had 24 movies with a 4.90x average multiplier.
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Weeks in theaters | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beetlejuice | Mar/31 | Warner Bros. | $8,030,897 | $74,220,408 | $15M | 11 | 9.24x |
| 2 | Above the Law | Apr/8 | Warner Bros. | $3,199,779 | $18,869,631 | $7.5M | 7 | 5.90x |
| 3 | License to Drive | Jul/6 | Fox | $3,850,934 | $22,434,275 | $8M | 2 | 5.83x |
| 4 | The Accidental Tourist | Dec/23 | Warner Bros. | $6,118,618 | $32,632,093 | N/A | 9 | 5.33x |
| 5 | Child's Play | Nov/9 | MGM | $6,583,963 | $33,244,684 | $9M | 12 | 5.05x |
| 6 | Eight Men Out | Sep/2 | Orion Pictures | $1,129,491 | $5,680,515 | $6.1M | 4 | 5.02x |
| 7 | The Seventh Sign | Apr/1 | TriStar Pictures | $3,768,707 | $18,875,011 | N/A | 3 | 5.01x |
| 8 | Masquerade | Mar/11 | MGM | $3,500,259 | $15,855,828 | $12M | 3 | 4.53x |
| 9 | Red Heat | Jun/17 | TriStar Pictures | $8,133,822 | $34,994,648 | N/A | 3 | 4.30x |
| 10 | She's Having a Baby | Feb/5 | Paramount | $3,827,520 | $16,031,707 | $20M | 4 | 4.19x |
| 11 | The Dead Pool | Jul/13 | Warner Bros. | $9,071,330 | $37,903,000 | $31M | 4 | 4.18x |
| 12 | Bat 21 | Oct/21 | TriStar Pictures | $982,080 | $3,966,256 | N/A | 3 | 4.03x |
| 13 | Sweet Hearts Dance | Sep/23 | TriStar Pictures | $1,116,902 | $3,790,493 | $9M | 2 | 3.39x |
| 14 | The Couch Trip | Jan/15 | Orion Pictures | $3,351,891 | $11,005,304 | $19M | 3 | 3.28x |
| 15 | Big Top Pee-wee | Jul/22 | Paramount | $4,625,004 | $15,122,324 | $20M | 2 | 3.27x |
| 16 | Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach | Mar/18 | Warner Bros. | $6,106,661 | $19,510,371 | $14M | 3 | 3.19x |
| 17 | Stealing Home | Aug/26 | Warner Bros. | $2,346,864 | $7,467,504 | $8M | 2 | 3.18x |
| 18 | Alien Nation | Oct/7 | Fox | $8,421,429 | $25,216,243 | $16M | 5 | 2.99x |
| 19 | Iron Eagle II | Nov/11 | TriStar Pictures | $3,530,016 | $10,497,324 | $15M | 3 | 2.97x |
| 20 | Switching Channels | Mar/4 | TriStar Pictures | $3,121,752 | $9,129,999 | $15M | 3 | 2.92x |
| 21 | Monkey Shines | Jul/29 | Orion Pictures | $1,902,024 | $5,344,577 | $7M | 2 | 2.80x |
| 22 | Feds | Oct/28 | Warner Bros. | $1,388,317 | $3,838,793 | N/A | 2 | 2.76x |
| 23 | The Good Mother | Nov/4 | Disney | $1,804,288 | $4,764,606 | $14M | 2 | 2.64x |
| 24 | Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood | May/13 | Paramount | $8,245,038 | $19,170,001 | $2.8M | 4 | 2.33x |
B–
13 movies (12.74%) managed to get the grade. Word of mouth is now extremely below average and indicates audiences are more disliking it. These movies averaged a 4.05x multiplier. In comparison, 1987 had 16 movies with a 4.12x average multiplier.
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Weeks in theaters | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colors | Apr/15 | Orion Pictures | $6,524,536 | $46,616,067 | $10M | 9 | 7.14x |
| 2 | My Stepmother Is an Alien | Dec/9 | Columbia | $2,066,980 | $13,854,000 | $19M | 8 | 6.70x |
| 3 | Married to the Mob | Aug/19 | Orion Pictures | $3,231,056 | $21,486,757 | $10M | 5 | 6.65x |
| 4 | Betrayed | Aug/26 | MGM | $5,534,787 | $25,816,139 | $19M | 5 | 4.66x |
| 5 | Frantic | Feb/26 | Warner Bros. | $4,359,424 | $17,637,000 | $20M | 4 | 4.05x |
| 6 | Moon Over Parador | Sep/9 | Universal | $3,268,975 | $11,444,204 | $20M | 3 | 3.50x |
| 7 | D.O.A. | Mar/18 | Disney | $3,751,432 | $12,706,478 | N/A | 3 | 3.39x |
| 8 | Casual Sex? | Apr/22 | Universal | $3,840,032 | $12,277,096 | N/A | 3 | 3.20x |
| 9 | The Blob | Aug/5 | TriStar Pictures | $2,644,920 | $8,247,943 | $10M | 2 | 3.12x |
| 10 | Hot to Trot | Aug/26 | Warner Bros. | $2,206,218 | $6,436,211 | $9M | 2 | 2.91x |
| 11 | Off Limits | Mar/11 | Fox | $2,796,111 | $7,242,035 | $12M | 2 | 2.59x |
| 12 | High Spirits | Nov/18 | TriStar Pictures | $3,308,250 | $8,578,231 | $17M | 3 | 2.59x |
| 13 | Sunset | Apr/29 | TriStar | $2,031,678 | $4,595,000 | $19M | 2 | 2.26x |
C+
5 movies (4.90%) managed to get the grade. This is where generally horror movies get their ratings. For non-horror movies tho, you better hope it has a compelling premise or it will heavily drop. These movies averaged a 2.84x multiplier. In comparison, 1987 had 6 movies with a 4.07x average multiplier.
NOTE: As you see, Rent-a-Cop only had these figures available, which gave it that low multiplier. If we exclude it, the movies averaged a 3.30x multiplier.
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Weeks in theaters | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Funny Farm | Jun/3 | Warner Bros. | $5,655,439 | $25,537,221 | $19M | 4 | 4.52x |
| 2 | Shakedown | May/6 | Universal | $3,017,800 | $10,068,039 | $6M | 3 | 3.34x |
| 3 | Moving | Mar/4 | Warner Bros. | $4,022,782 | $10,815,378 | N/A | 2 | 2.69x |
| 4 | Caddyshack II | Jul/22 | Warner Bros. | $4,436,330 | $11,798,302 | $20M | 2 | 2.66x |
| 5 | Rent-a-Cop | Jan/15 | Kings Road Entertainment | $295,000 | $295,000 | $16M | 1 | 1.00x |
C
4 movies (3.92%) managed to get the grade. Even worse word of mouth, but these movies had some middling to outright terrible response. These movies averaged a 3.04x multiplier. In comparison, 1987 had 8 movies with a 2.60x average multiplier.
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Weeks in theaters | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnny Be Good | Mar/25 | Orion Pictures | $5,249,388 | $17,500,399 | N/A | 3 | 3.33x |
| 2 | Poltergeist III | Jun/10 | MGM | $4,344,308 | $14,114,000 | $9.5M | 3 | 3.25x |
| 3 | Bright Lights, Big City | Apr/1 | United Artists | $5,126,791 | $16,118,077 | $25M | 3 | 3.14x |
| 4 | Bad Dreams | Apr/8 | Fox | $4,008,870 | $9,797,098 | $4.5M | 3 | 2.44x |
C–
Only one movie (0.98%) managed to get the grade. The future is not bright here. This movie averaged a 3.03x multiplier. In comparison, 1987 had one movie with a 3.50x average multiplier.
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Weeks in theaters | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dead Ringers | Sep/23 | Fox | $3,012,180 | $9,134,733 | $13M | 2 | 3.03x |
D+
Only one movie (0.98%) managed to get the grade. Even for horror movie standards, this is outright toxic word of mouth. This movie averaged a 2.16x multiplier.
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Weeks in theaters | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fresh Horses | Nov/14 | Columbia | $3,074,292 | $6,640,346 | $14M | 2 | 2.16x |
1988 DOMESTIC TOP TEN
| No. | Movie | Date | Studio | Domestic Opening | Domestic Total | Budget | Grade | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rain Man | Dec/16 | MGM | $7,005,719 | $172,825,435 | $25M | A | 24.66x |
| 2 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Jun/22 | Disney | $11,226,239 | $154,112,492 | $50M | A | 13.72x |
| 3 | Coming to America | Jun/29 | Paramount | $21,404,420 | $128,152,301 | $36M | A | 5.99x |
| 4 | Big | Jun/3 | Fox | $8,216,190 | $114,968,774 | $18M | A | 13.99x |
| 5 | Twins | Dec/9 | Universal | $11,174,980 | $111,936,388 | $18M | A– | 10.01x |
| 6 | Crocodile Dundee II | May/25 | Paramount | $24,462,976 | $109,306,210 | $14M | B+ | 4.47x |
| 7 | Die Hard | Jul/15 | Fox | $7,105,514 | $81,675,242 | $35M | A+ | 11.49x |
| 8 | The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! | Dec/2 | Paramount | $9,331,746 | $78,041,829 | $12M | A– | 8.36x |
| 9 | Cocktail | Jul/29 | Disney | $11,789,466 | $78,222,753 | $20M | B+ | 6.63x |
| 10 | Beetlejuice | Mar/31 | Warner Bros. | $8,030,897 | $74,220,408 | $15M | B | 9.24x |
See you tomorrow for the 1989 Edition.
5
Sep 11 '22
Beetlejuice only got a B?! Still had damn good legs regardless
1
u/JediJones77 Amblin Sep 11 '22
I saw it in theaters and hated it. Loved Keaton as the title character but the rest of it was pretty unwatchable. Have never watched it again.
2
u/JediJones77 Amblin Sep 11 '22
I imported all the Cinemascores through August 9, 2019 into a Google Sheet.
From this year, in theaters, I saw Big, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Short Circuit 2, Beetlejuice and Big Top Pee-wee. Fairly early in the home video run, I saw Rain Man, Die Hard, A Fish Called Wanda, Working Girl, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Great Outdoors, The Accidental Tourist and Funny Farm.
•
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