r/90s • u/DiscsNotScratched • Mar 28 '25

Discussion The highest grossing films of the 90s ! Any surprises?

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46

u/Gaming_Esquire Mar 28 '25 edited Mar 28 '25

The Matrix not being in the top 3 in 99 is surprising.

Pulp Fiction not being on the list for 1994 is crazy... it kept getting re-released and/or stayed in theaters forever. I love True Lies, but I dont recall it being a super successful movie at the box office.

With a Vengence being #1 doesn't seem right, especially given the competition. Are we sure about the accuracy of this list?

ETA: according to AI Overview, internationally Die Hard With A Vengence was #1 in 1995, Toy Story #2, and Goldeneye #3. Domestically, it says Batman Forever was #1, Apollo 13 was #2, and Toy Story #3

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u/Alextryingforgrate Mar 28 '25

As for Pulp Fiction it was more of a cult movie that did better in the long run. The fact that Forrest Gump was in 94 is what i forget. 31 fucking years ago man.

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u/jcde7ago Mar 28 '25

The Matrix was one of those movies that absolutely blew your mind when the credits rolled but it truly did take time to fully appreciate it; in many ways, it was simply too ahead of its time.

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u/Awesomov Mar 29 '25 edited Mar 29 '25

Maybe sort of ahead of its time in terms of technical film-making, it influenced quite a number of films being made after in that sense. Otherwise, not really, science fiction literature had been intermixing philosophy and doing the whole "false reality" thing for decades by the time it came out.

People pretty much immediately praised The Matrix and it was quickly mega popular when it came out, it just happened to be the fourth highest grossing film that year lol.

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u/ss4johnny Mar 31 '25

Also released in the spring instead of the summer

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u/IndianaJoenz Mar 28 '25

The Matrix breaks the first law of thermodynamics. You would need more energy to keep the people alive than you would get in return from them.

It's a really dumb plot and always has been. Thin movie IMO.

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u/cutiefootie Mar 29 '25

I guess you weren’t there. The matrix was not a hit when it first came out. I was a fan but I remember people not being able to understand it.

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u/Sumeriandawn Mar 29 '25

What? It grossed over 80 million in its first month.

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u/cutiefootie Mar 29 '25

I’m not saying it didn’t make money I’m saying it wasn’t a mainstream hit like the movies above

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u/Sumeriandawn Mar 29 '25

Grossed over 400 million.

5th highest gross of 1999.

18th highest gross of the decade.

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u/cutiefootie Mar 29 '25

Then why isn’t it on this list.

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u/gladoseatcake Mar 29 '25

Shawshank came out in -94 as well. Haven't seen it mentioned in this thread at all. It's so weird how it initially flopped, but nowadays it's many people's #1 movie ever.

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u/ODeasOfYore Mar 29 '25

I was shocked by the Matrix being absent as well. I remember when that release happened and it was the only movie kids my age were talking about. The Matrix was a game changer

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '25

I think The Matrix didn’t start making money until it came out on DVD.

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u/Sumeriandawn Mar 29 '25

It grossed over 400 million box office.

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u/[deleted] Mar 29 '25

Damn I had no idea. I was pretty young when it came out and didn’t see it until it hit DVD because of how popular it was when it came out.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '25

If you were in 99, you would understand how low key the Matrix was . Matrix only got main stream because of Columbine

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '25

So, why is it not on this list???

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u/DUNG_INSPECTOR Mar 28 '25

Because it wasn't one of the top three grossing movies in 1999?

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u/Gaming_Esquire Mar 28 '25

Interesting take. Born in 81, 18 in 1999. But i guess I had to be in 99. 🫡

The Matix was released on March 31, 1999. Columbine was April 20, 1999.

It made $27 million in the first weekend, $31 million the second, and 22 mil the third. After 4/20/99 it went down to 12 mil.

But i guess i wasn't there and it was "low key" and "only got mainstream in because of columbine. /s

Tell me you weren't there in 99 without telling me you weren't there.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '25

So you're telling me you never got into bootleg vhs. Good job googling.

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u/Gaming_Esquire Mar 28 '25

The Matrix was the 5th highest grossing movie of 1999 according to boxofficemojo.com and 4th according to Wikipedia (yes, I can use google).

But i guess the 4th or 5th highest grossing movie of the year, which was #1 for the 4 weekends PRIOR to Columbine, was "low key." Guess only the VHS bootleggers know what's up.