Who says science fiction is only for nerds? This popular genre often produces the highest grossing films in any given year. These movies draw in audiences with their futuristic ideas, technology, and societies. They might send us traversing across space, visiting other planets or trying to ward off the end of the world. Or they might be set a little closer to home, as Earthlings take on alien invasions or homicidal robots.
The 1990s delivered some of the biggest, most iconic sci-fi movies ever made. This decade saw a huge advancement in visual effects, showing us what a sci-movie could really be. These films transformed the genre. Without them, science fiction just wouldn't be the same. Here are the ten highest grossing sci-fi movies from each year of the 1990s.
10 Total Recall (1990)
Total Recall is a science fiction acid trip. Another film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, it's based on a 1966 short story by sci-fi mastermind Philip K. Dick. Here, fantasy and reality clash for Douglas Quaid (Schwarzenegger) when he discovers that an implanted memory of his adventure on Mars might actually be real. Total Recall was one of the most highly anticipated films of 1990. But the film's content was criticized for being vulgar, violent, and overall weird. Despite this, it became the highest grossing science fiction movie of 1990, making $261 worldwide. Total Recall was remade in 2012, taking place on Earth rather than Mars, but was met with the same mixed response.
9 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is that rare instance where the sequel is better than and improves upon the original. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the biggest action star of the 90s, makes his epic return as the cyborg killing machine in this sci-fi blockbuster. Except this time, he's playing the bad*ss hero and protector rather than the relentless villain. Terminator 2 was ground-breaking in terms of visual effects. It lost those cheesy-looking 80s visuals from the original and replaced them with mind-bending CGI. Terminator 2 was an action-packed ride that wooed audiences worldwide.
It grossed $204 million at the global box office. Domestically, it was the highest grossing film of 1991. Worldwide, though, it came second behind Disney's animated classic Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately, the sequels that followed never lived up the quality of this film, making Judgment Day the best installment in the Terminator franchise.
8 Honey, I Blew Up the Kid (1992)
Honey, I Blew Up the Kid was the sequel to the 1989 hit Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and the second installment in the three-movie franchise. The title is a little misleading: eccentric inventor Wayne Szalinski (Rick Moranis) doesn't detonate and murder his child. Rather, he increases his kid's size and turns him into a 112-foot giant. This film wasn't a huge performer: it only grossed $96 million worldwide. Honey, I Blew Up the Kid is an enjoyable, family friendly movie. But because it's sandwiched between two sci-fi juggernauts, it makes 1992 look like a weak year for science fiction. To the surprise of no one, Disney is reportedly rebooting the franchise.
7 Jurassic Park (1993)
Now this one isn't a surprise. Jurassic Park is so much more than a science fiction, adventure film. It's a cinematic masterpiece and one of the most important movies ever made. The main characters' astonishment mirrors our own when we enter Jurassic Park, greeted by John William's iconic score, and we see dinosaurs walking the Earth for the first time. "How did you do this?" mutters Alan Grant (Sam Neill). "I'll show you," John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) whispers back.
Director Steven Spielberg brought dinosaurs back to life through a mix of animatronics and digital effects. The combination created visuals that feel more real than the CGI we see in today's movies. Across the globe, audiences turned out to visit Jurassic Park and look upon dinosaurs for the first time. The film was a massive success and grossed nearly a billion dollars, an unfathomable box office number in 1993.
6 Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Star Trek: Generations is the seventh installment in the Star Trek film series. For fans, this movie was a big deal. It brought together two iconic Star Trek captains on the big screen: James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner) and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Unfortunately, Generations left many fans disappointed due to its underwhelming story and performances. It was also a disappointment for non-Star Trek fans, who had trouble following the material. Despite this, Generations was 1994's hightest grossing sci-fi movie, making $118 million worldwide.
5 Waterworld (1995)
This one is surprising. Kevin Costner's Waterworld is a post-apocalyptic tale set in the distant (or maybe not so distant) future, where the polar ice cap has melted and Earth's land masses have been submerged underwater. Despite negative reviews, it turned out to be the highest grossing sci-fi movie of 1995, raking in $264 million worldwide. But due to its massive budget of $175 million, which made it the most expensive film ever made at that time, Waterworld was a box office flop. At least initially.
Thanks to home video and other post-cinema sales, the film did eventually break even. Waterworld has since become infamous in cinema, a cautionary tale for movies with astronomical budgets. But that still hasn't stopped the entertainment industry from pumping out big budget flicks. Or from green lighting a Waterworld miniseries.
4 Independence Day (1996)
Independence Day is a quintessential alien invasion film. It features one of the most iconic shots in science fiction: the alien's giant ship hovering over the White House, and then blasting it into oblivion. It boasts an all-star cast that includes Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum as humanity's last hope for survival. And let's not forget Bill Pullman, whose epic speech in this movie makes us wish that he really was our President. Like in the film, the whole world showed up to support Independence Day: it grossed $306 million at the global box office. This impressive number makes it the highest grossing film of 1996, both in sci-fi and in cinema.
3 The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park was the highly anticipated sequel to the critical and commercial smash hit Jurassic Park. It brought back director Steven Spielberg and some big names from the original film, such as Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough. In The Lost World, we learn there's a second island inhabited with wild dinosaurs, and a team is being assembled to document them in their natural habitat.
Unfortunately, as is usually the case, The Lost World failed to live up to the golden standard of its predecessor. The film was criticized for its weak character development and for trying to turn the T-rex into King Kong. Despite mixed reviews, it still grossed $618 million worldwide.The Lost World was the highest grossing sci-fi movie of 1997 and the second highest grossing film that year? What beat it? Just a little film calledTitanic.
2 Armageddon (1998)
Armageddon sends a team of ragtag, deep-core drillers, which includes Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, and Steve Buscemi, into space to nuke a massive asteroid, whose impact threatens to destroy Earth. It's a far-fetched premise but can apparently work in real life. Critics destroyed this movie like it was an asteroid hurtling toward Earth. Audiences, however, found it to be an entertaining ride that featured action, comedy, and tear-jerking moments. Despite this mixed reaction, Armageddon killed it at the global box office and grossed $554 million. Like other entries on this list, it was the highest grossing film in the year that it was released.
1 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
At the time of its release, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was a major movie event. Sixteen years had passed since fans had seen a new Star Wars movie. There was no Disney+ back then, constantly pumping out Star Wars content. Fans were foaming at the mouth when Star Wars creator George Lucas announced that he'd be making a prequel trilogy that captured the story of Darth Vader, the rise of the Galactic Empire, and the fall of the Jedi. The Phantom Menace was the first movie in this prequel trilogy.
The film had some positives: it brought back favorite characters, it featured an awesome new villain with Darth Maul, it had great visual effects, and it ramped up the choreography for lightsaber duels, making them way more epic than before. But the new Star Wars movie was also met with criticism and negativity, though it looks like an Oscar winning film compared to Disney's sequel trilogy. Regardless, audiences turned out worldwide for The Phantom Menace. It grossed a little over a billion dollars.The Phantom Menace wasn't just the highest grossing sci-fi movie of 1999; it was also the highest grossing film overall.
Comments
Post a Comment