The "Best Films of the Summer Box Office, 2002" tournament is down to the final 16 films, with very little surprises as top-seeded teams move on.
*This post last updated 7/3/22.
The upstarts and Cinderella stories have been left behind in this summer box office tournament. That is likely due to the quality (and quantity) of movies released that summer; for once the box office domestic numbers corelating to seedings as this tournament proceeds.
Eleven of the top-16 seeds have advanced, with many doing so in convincing fashion. Number one seeds in May and June did struggle to some extent but the top seeds in the other two regions advanced in style.
One double-digit seed, no. 11 in the May region Undercover Brother, lingers. Eddie Griffin is the headliner of this film, which also features Denise Richards, Neil Patrick Harris, and Dave Chappelle, among others.
Star power in front of the camera was pretty prevalent in the summer of 2002 but behind the camera lacked the plethora of big names one is accustomed to seeing in the summer box office. Christopher Nolan was early in his career, with Insomnia as a follow-up to his critical darling Memento.
We were treated to George Lucas (Attack of the Clones) and Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black II), plus M. Night Shyamalan (Signs) and Sam Raimi (Spider-Man). So, the big names weren't completely lacking just not the usual on par with what was seen in the five previous summers to 2002.
The final 16 films in the tournament still have plenty of star power to go around. Mike Myers, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Matt Damon, Tom Hanks, Joaquin Phoenix, and Ben Affleck among the names receiving top billing on these films.
One noticeable item is the lack of female-led films that remain in this tournament. Blue Crush, with stars Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez, is the only live-action film with a female in the top spot on the call sheet. (Lilo & Stitch can be included, too, with the voice of Lilo, Daveigh Chase.
This is not to say females were completely absent from these films. Kirsten Dunst, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Julia Stiles, Rosario Dawson, and Beyoncé were but a few stars rocking the films they were in.
Onto the matchups for the round of 16:
May region
The closest match-up from the round of 32 in this region belonged to Insomnia vs Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. Episode II advanced with 60 percent, holding off a late charge from the Al Pacino film (which was fairly star heavy, with Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Maura Tierney, and Nicky Katt also appearing).
The Sum of All Fears had the easiest time, winning with 95 percent.
- 1) Spider-Man
- 5) The Sum of All Fears
- 11) Undercover Brother
- 2) Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
June region
The top two seeds in the June region had the most difficult battles. The kids from the Scooby Doo gang scared up a win with 58.8 percent and 2nd-seed Lilo & Stitch squeezed by with 60.9 percent.
Minority Report has been the class of this region so far, winning its first two matches with over 90 percent of the vote.
- 1) Scooby Doo
- 5) The Bourne Identity
- 3) Minority Report
- 2) Lilo & Stitch
July region
The match-up between the 4th and 5th-seeds came down to the wire, with 5-seed Like Mike getting a vote in the last minutes to secure a victory with 52 percent.
Seeds one, two, and three all advanced with relative ease. Top-seed Austin Powers in Goldmember won with the highest percentage of this region, at 86.6.
- 1) Austin Powers in Goldmember
- 5) Like Mike
- 3) Road to Perdition
- 2) Men in Black II
August region
A region in complete disarray! Why? Because a 6-seed ruined this from being a 1-4 sweep.
Okay, so it's not disarray as for the second straight match-up Signs walked away with 96 percent of the vote. One Hour Photo, the sixth-seed, continued to impress, with 89.3.
The film winning by the smallest margin was Blue Crush, which advanced with 60.7 percent.
- 1) Signs
- 4) Blue Crush
- 6) One Hour Photo
- 2) XXX
*Elite 8 matchups, with winning percentage from round of 16 in parentheses
- May region: 1 - Spider-Man (77.5) vs 2 - Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (63.8)
- June region: 5 - The Bourne Identity (87.1) vs 3 - Minority Report (75)
- July region: 1 - Austin Powers in Goldmember (90.8) vs 3 - Road to Perdition (59.2)
- August region: 1 - Signs (80.5) vs 6 - One Hour Photo (67.4)
Voting takes place on Twitter (@jasonrh_78) and will continue until a winner is crowned. Thanks for voting and playing along!
photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
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