The "Best Of" tournament for the summer box office of 1993 marches on, with two heavyweight films making mincemeat of opponents in the early going.
Dinosaurs and Jeff Goldblum ruled the summer box office of 1993. They, along with Laura Dern and the other stars of Jurassic Park, seemed like to lock to win this tournament to determine a favorite from that summer. Beloved to this day, and a very fine film, Jurassic Park has cemented itself a place in pop culture history.
So, too, has The Fugitive, which is bull rushing its way on a trajectory to possibly meet Jurassic Park in the final.
Both films have had easy romps in the first two rounds. And on paper, the star power of Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones could lead The Fugitive to easy wins on the way to an appearance in the final four.
Star power was the name of the game back in the 1990s and the same can be said about the summer of '93. Names like Tom Cruise, Mike Myers, Bette Midler, Angela Bassett, Charlie Sheen, and Clint Eastwood were but a few who headlined films that summer. And these are just mentioning a few who are still fighting in the round of 16, with names like Sharon Stone, Mel Brooks, and Wesley Snipes among those who have already bowed out.
The one sad thing is we won't get to see two films Neil Flynn was in square off. Flynn may not exactly be a household name but he's a favorite of mine, with a long list of roles. He's appeared in such films as Mean Girls and Magnolia and also starred in The Middle and as Janitor in Scrubs
Flynn was in the now-eliminated Rookie of the Year and plays a cop in The Fugitive. A fact that was even used as a part of a story in an episode of Scrubs.
Will it be star power carrying films onto the next round? Will we see a double-digit seed reach the final four? See the matches below as we whittle the list down to eight films.
May region
The round of 32 witnessed easy victories for three of the films. Cliffhanger and Hot Shots: Part Deux each won with 75 percent of the vote. The closest match was between the no. 2 seed, Dave, which narrowly defeated 7-seed Menace II Society by two percent. (The loss by Menace also means we don't get the Samuel L. Jackson vs Samuel L. Jackson match-up in the final four.)
- 1) Cliffhanger
- 4) Hot Shots: Part Deux
- 6) Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
- 2) Dave
June region
Jurassic Park took care of business last round, taking home 97 percent of the vote. A match in the round of 16 has the possibility for a more difficult time, with What's Love Got to Do with It on the slate. This film about Tina Turner eked out a round of 32 victory over Last Action Hero, with 52 percent.
The region's 2nd-seed, Sleepless in Seattle, also could present a challenge after notching 93.5 percent last round.
- 1) Jurassic Park
- 5) What's Love Got to Do with It
- 3) Dennis the Menace
- 2) Sleepless in Seattle
July region
This region promised to be a difficult one prior to the tournament and has lived up to the billing. There was no real runaway winner in the round of 32, with In the Line of Fire snagging the biggest win with a 36 percent margin of victory.
The closest was Hocus Pocus, which held off Free Willy by an eight percent clip.
- 1) The Firm
- 13) So I Married an Axe Murderer
- 6) Hocus Pocus
- 2) In the Line of Fire
August region
A cakewalk for The Fugitive continued in the round of 32, winning with 95.5 percent. No other film came close to that, with margins of victory ranging between 14 and 26 percent.
This region has one of the last two remaining double-digit seeds. Searching for Bobby Fischer is the 11th-seed and won in the round of 32 with 63 percent.
- 1) The Fugitive
- 5) Man Without a Face
- 11) Searching for Bobby Fischer
- 2) Hard Target
Voting continues on Twitter as we aim to crown a favorite film from 1993's summer box office.
*Update (6/18): The Fugitive narrowly defeated Jurassic Park in the final, winning with 51 percent of the vote.
photo credit: rawpixel
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