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JANUARY
'99 Films

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1999 Films

1999 ARCHIVE
 

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SF in film and TV

1999 SF/F/H Films: Box Office

Seven of the ten highest US-grossing films of 1999 were science fiction, fantasy, or horror -- or eight, if you consider ''Tarzan'' a genre work. With totals estimated through mid-December, the top earning films of the year, as reported by AP, were:

  1. Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace, $429.9 million
  2. The Sixth Sense, $275.2 million
  3. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, $205.4 million
  4. Toy Story 2, $179.7 million
  5. The Matrix, $171.4 million
  6. Tarzan, $170.9 million
  7. Big Daddy, $163.5 million
  8. The Mummy, $155.3 million
  9. Runaway Bride, $151.8 million
  10. The Blair Witch Project, $140.5 million

(Here is a checklist of 1999 SF/F/H films compiled by Locus Online.)


1999 SF/F/H Films: Critics' Lists

Updating last month's story, Being John Malkovich has emerged as the most frequently cited film on critics' top-10 lists for 1999 -- not just the most frequently cited fantastic film. Spike Jonze's film appears on 23 of 34 critics' lists compiled by Locus Online.

Chicago Sun Times film critic Roger Ebert has ranked Being John Malkovich number one on his list of the Best Films of 1999. (Ebert chose another fantastic film as the best of 1998, Alex Proyas' Dark City.) A Village Voice poll of 50 plus film critics ranks Being John Malkovich first as best film and best first film of the year, and Charlie Kaufman's script as best screenplay of the year.

Lists compiled include those from Time, Entertainment Weekly, the newspapers New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice and Washington Post, and the websites Slate, Salon, and Mr. Showbiz.

The next SF/F/H films most often cited are South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut on 13 critics' lists and Toy Story 2 on 12 lists. They're trailed by The Matrix on 10 lists, The Iron Giant on 8 lists, and The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense each on 7 lists.

Among all films, Three Kings ranks second, on 20 lists; The Insider, American Beauty and The Straight Story are included on 19 lists each; Boys Don't Cry is on 17 lists, Election and All About My Mother are on 15 lists; The Talented Mr. Ripley is on 13 lists; and Magnolia and Run Lola Run are on 12 lists each.

(Mon 3 Jan 2000)

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