Ah, 2003. What a year. What a time to be alive. Apple launched the iTunes Store, Britney Spears and Madonna kissed at the VMAs, The O.C. dominated television.
Oh, and America started a criminal war in Iraq that killed thousands of innocents and lost of trillions of dollars…
Anyway, it was quite the year! It was definitely wild and uneasy. Like a lot of the decade, there is much about 2003 best left forgotten.
But let’s not forget about the films of 2003 because those were actually pretty great. It was a big year, with a whole slew of blockbusters cramming the chart. The top ten domestic releases of 2003 were comprised of sequels and movies that would mostly earn sequels. It featured filmmakers and studios at the top of their game and it felt like huge, memorable tent pole films were coming out every single week. So, yeah, the world might have been going to hell in a hand basket held by Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney but at least we were being expertly entertained.
The Top Grossing Films of 2003 (Domestic)
Ah, finally. Lord Of The Rings takes the top spot.
After two years of being a bridesmaid but never a bride, Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy came to a close with The Return Of The King. And people were all about it. And when I say “people”, I mean damn near everyone loved it. Critics adored the film (93% on Rotten Tomatoes) as did audiences (a rare A+ CinemaScore and $1.142 billion worldwide) and the Academy (11 Oscars, tying for the most-awarded film in history). Across the board, Return Of The King was an absolute triumph. So it was only fitting that Jackson’s stunning conclusion would take the top spot at the domestic box office for 2003. The movie just couldn’t miss. It opened with an impressive $72 million (the then-best December opening) and just kept racking in cash until it was dethroned from the top spot in mid-January 2004.
Something just felt right about having The Return Of The King be the top film of 2003. It felt earned, it felt like a victory. Its success seemed like a cause for celebration for so many reasons: it was a wonderful film, it was made by wonderful people who poured their wonderful hearts and wonderful souls into it, it was showcasing a wonderful genre that often got shit on by audiences and the Oscars. Seeing everyone come together for The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King made me feel proud, happy and downright patriotic. It was the perfect end to a perfect trilogy. Wonderful, just wonderful.
But there were other huge hits on the 2003 chart that deserved praise. Pixar’s Finding Nemo burst onto the scene with a huge $70 million opening weekend, setting a new record for an animated film. More than its gross, Nemo took Pixar to a whole new level in terms of technology and creativity. The script was dynamite, clever and heartfelt. The animation, as well, was a marvel. Pixar raised the bar and proved why they were (and still are, really) the best name in the game when it comes to animation. Finding Nemo was released as Pixar was at the height of their powers. It would be several years until they were brought back down to Earth (Damn you, Cars).
Disney also had a lot of luck with their Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The film, a swashbuckling adventure film from Gore Verbinski, ended up being a much bigger success than expected. Disney always suspected they had a hit on their hands but a $300 million hit that spawned multiple sequels and a legion of fans for Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow? I don’t think anyone expected that. But, sure enough, Pirates was a runaway smash in the summer of 2003. It was a great mix of straight-up adventure, supernatural creepiness and pirate charm. It was all sprinkled with a dash of Disney magic and felt really special upon release. Yes, the sequels ended up becoming muddled and boring bland messes. But the first Pirates film is still something exciting and unique.
There were some other new movies on the top ten chart. Jon Favreau’s Elf seemed to be released at the perfect time, ready to capitalize on holiday cheer and the rising star of Will Ferrell. Jim Carrey’s Bruce Almighty was the last genuine hit that Carrey would experience for some time. And Cheaper By The Dozen proved that every generation can find something to love about Steve Martin.
Cheaper By The Dozen is the Steven Martin comedy, right?
But let’s examine a few of the other sequels of 2003 because they were the epitome of a mixed bag. There was X-2: X-Men United which was an unabashedly great follow-up to Bryan Singer’s first X-Men film. X-Men United just took everything up a notch, bringing bigger action, bigger scope and more characters. There is some brilliant stuff in X-2 and people still consider it one of the best superhero films, with good reason. That was an example of a sequel done well.
As for an example of a sequel done poorly, let me re-introduce you to the Matrix sequels. First out was The Matrix Reloaded, which ends up on the chart at number four with $281 million. Reloaded opened in May with $91,774,413 (at the time that was the biggest R-rated opening ever and the best Warner Bros debut). Everyone was talking about how huge an opening it delivered. Do you know what people were not talking about? The film’s quality because it was decidedly just okay. Remember, the first Matrix is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made and a landmark cinematic achievement. So a just okay sequel is not good news. Not at all. The movie got lost in the syntax of the world created in the first film. Instead of being a movie consisting of cool kung-fu bullet-dodging, the Wachowskis were forced to insert a whole lot of exposition and bizarre scenes of cave-dwelling. The fantasy was far more exciting than reality and audiences we left bummed by Reloaded. It had some bright spots, sure, but it paled in comparison to its predecessor.
If they were bummed by Reloaded then they were absolutely disgusted by The Matrix Revolutions. Revolutions came on the scene in November, a few months after people had time to accept just how ho-hum Reloaded was. Even with that acceptance, The Matrix Revolutions was remarkably bad. It was a slog, it was boring, it was completely out of new ideas. The Matrix Revolutions limped across the finish line and those who were once fans were just happy that the whole thing was over. Hey, we will always have The Matrix. And even with the two sub-par sequels, I am still very much on board for a new Matrix, due hopefully next year. That is how good the first film is, its power keeps enticing me back for more.
And that was 2003, a year with some inspiring victories and some major losses. The following year would bring us some hotly-anticipated sequels, some impressive CGI and a whole lot of Jesus.