A short while ago we posted a feature focusing on The Fugitive at 30, which looked at the 1993 blockbuster as an example of “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” filmmaking. Well, it appears to be a common question in this day of IPs and opening weekends, and now director Andrew Davis has offered up some thoughts on why Hollywood no longer make movies like The Fugitive anymore.
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter about the film’s 30th anniversary, Davis was asked about the success of the $368 million (not adjusted for inflation) grossing thriller, and why similar fare is all too rare these days.
Davis replied “I think it started with Jaws. When you could make a movie that could play all over the world and have all of these incredible box offices, studios wanted to invest in that home run all the time. But Bob Daly and [WB co-chairman] Terry Semel said, ‘We’re happy hitting doubles.’ They still had Batman [1989] and some other big hits. So they knew this was going to be a popular movie, but they didn’t know it was going to be this popular. I remember Daly saying to me, ‘It’s rare that we have a box office this healthy, reviews this healthy and all these nominations.’ It was very rare for them to have all of those things happening at once, which was wonderful.”
Nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and winning one in the Best Supporting Actor category for Tommy Lee Jones’ memorable performance, The Fugitive finished behind only Jurassic Park and Mrs. Doubtfire at the 1993 box-office, based simply on the fact that the money-men were happy to deliver a film that would simply do decent business.
Let us know whether you agree with Davis and what your thoughts are on The Fugitive 30 years later by heading to our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
