Today, July 1, is the 24th anniversary of the 1994 The Shadow movie that starred Alec Baldwin and Lamont Cranston/The Shadow and Penelope Ann Miller as Margo Lane!
The Shadow movie opened in 1,677 theaters and was the #2 movie for its opening weekend, coming in behind The Lion King which was in its second week. The Shadow brought in $11,713,845 during its opening weekend!
Unfortunately, it didn't sustain its opening weekend momentum and the movie's run in theaters only lasted 4 weeks. It brought in $32,063,435 domestic and $16,000,000 overseas. At its widest release, it was in 1,769 theaters.
Being a Shadow fan for only about a year now I must say that I really love this movie. It captures the right blend of The Shadow from the pulps and The Shadow from the radio show. And, it is sooo much better than the black and white Shadow movies that came before it! The way I see it, the producers for the film had to walk a line between pleasing long-time Shadow fans and attracting people that had never heard of The Shadow. The movie incorporated parts from the pulps (The Shadow's agents, his cloak, slouch hat, etc.) and the radio show (the lovely Margo Lane).
I was so stoked waiting for this film and when it arrived I took my 8 year old son to see it. We had a great time and I have enjoyed this film more as the years have passed. Thanks for marking the anniversary for us geezers.
ReplyDeleteThis is the only movie I've ever made the effort to catch on opening night! I was thrilled! Unfortunately, it came sooo close...but missed the mark. Why? One reason. It couldn't decide whether to be a drama or a comedy. If it had gone fully in one direction or the other, it would have succeeded. (Personally, I wish they'd gone full drama; it was sooo close to perfection!) Kudos for capturing the perfect Shadow laugh. Sadly, there are no DVD/Blu Ray special features. Foul!
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