{"id":51527,"date":"2023-11-05T15:19:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T15:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/05\/ontd-original-a-subjective-ranking-the-top-30-grossing-films-of-1993\/"},"modified":"2023-11-05T15:19:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T15:19:05","slug":"ontd-original-a-subjective-ranking-the-top-30-grossing-films-of-1993","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/05\/ontd-original-a-subjective-ranking-the-top-30-grossing-films-of-1993\/","title":{"rendered":"ONTD Original: A Subjective Ranking the Top 30 Grossing Films of 1993"},"content":{"rendered":"


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When I first embarked on this journey to rank the top 25 grossing films of 1993, I thought it would be a fun way to look back at popular cinema from 20 years ago. And then I double checked my math and realized that 1993 was 30 years ago…things got a little dark…I needed a moment. But I pulled myself together, decided to make it a top 30 for aesthetic reasons, and started watching the films in order of how much they raked in worldwide the year they were released.<\/p>\n

Some of these movies I had loved, some of these movies I had seen but forgotten, some of these movies I had only heard about, and some of these movies I didn’t even know existed. <\/p>\n

Below the cut is my personal ranking of these films, from worst to best. But first – the top 30 grossing films of 1993 (Note: I used Box Office Mojo\u2019s list \u2013 sourced below. Different sites have different films\/rankings but a lot of the same films appear despite which list you pull):<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Top Grossing Films of ’93<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1. Jurassic Park<\/td>\n11. Free Willy <\/td>\n21. The Three Musketeers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2. Mrs. Doubtfire<\/td>\n12. Philadelphia <\/td>\n22. Rookie of the Year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3. The Fugitive <\/td>\n13. Groundhog Day<\/td>\n23. Beethoven’s 2nd<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4. The Firm<\/td>\n14. Grumpy Old Men <\/td>\n24. Dennis the Menace<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5. Sleepless in Seattle<\/td>\n15. Cool Runnings <\/td>\n25. Sommersby<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6. Indecent Proposal<\/td>\n16. Dave <\/td>\n26. Last Action Hero <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7. In the Line of Fire<\/td>\n17. Rising Sun <\/td>\n27. The Nightmare Before Christmas <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8. The Pelican Brief<\/td>\n18. Demolition Man<\/td>\n28. Addams Family Values <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9. Schindler’s List<\/td>\n19. Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit<\/td>\n29. Malice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10. Cliffhanger <\/td>\n20. Tombstone<\/td>\n30. Made in America<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n


I watched these films in order from 1 to 30 as listed above. Below, they are ordered from WORST to BEST with brief commentary on each because I know how much you all hate to read! <\/p>\n

[<\/span><\/svg>The Stinkers: 30-21<\/a><\/b>]<\/span><\/span>
The Stinkers: 30-21<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

30. Indecent Proposal<\/span><\/b>
Holy fuck this movie SUCKS. It\u2019s clunky from start to finish. The narration is annoying. Woody Harrelson<\/b> is HORRIBLE. Literally the only good thing about this movie is Demi Moore<\/b> and her cute outfits. So much of this movie is nonsense that it\u2019s actually infuriating to watch (the plot is basically 2 broke but fully capable and educated adults that, instead of getting a fucking job, try to gamble their money problems away lmfao \u2013 and then a horny Robert Redford<\/b> pays to fuck Demi Moore for a million dollars and then Woody Harrelson acts like a stupid idiot manbaby the rest of the movie). I truly can\u2019t explain how horrible this movie is. Also Billy Connolly<\/b> has a cameo as himself!? How did this even get made and how did it make so much money!?!? I guess people in 1993 were insatiably horny for Demi Moore because there\u2019s no other explanation for this. 0\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

29. Rising Sun<\/span><\/b>
This movie is giving Indecent Proposal<\/i> a run for its money in terms of the worst movie of \u201993. Both are absolutely insufferable. Wesley Snipes<\/b>. Sean Connery<\/b>. Tia Carrere<\/b>. Harvey Keitel<\/b>. Steve Buscemi<\/b>. That\u2019s a lot of names tied to this massive pile of doodoo. <\/p>\n

The only reason this one is ranked above Indecent Proposal<\/i> is because I was thrown for a loop-de-fucking-loop when Sean Connery said, \u201cWe may come from a fragmented MTV rap video culture, but they do not,\u201d and then referred to himself as Wesley Snipes\u2019s Senpai lmfao. Nothing that unhinged happened in Indecent Proposal<\/i>! 0\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

28. Mrs. Doubtfire<\/span><\/b>
Probably a controversial take, but I never cared for Robin Williams<\/b> and I never cared for this movie. I hated Mrs. Doubtfire as a kid. I\u2019ve wondered on and off for years if I should revisit it now that I\u2019m older since it\u2019s so beloved, but giving it my first ever re-watch really solidified my opinion. This movie sucks. Everyone is so unlikeable. So much of it left a sour taste in my mouth. The jokes aren\u2019t funny. I found this wholly unenjoyable. There wasn\u2019t a single thing that I liked about this and it was, overall, a really bad time. Don’t come for me in the comments unless you’ve watched this in the last 3 years. 0\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

27. The Three Musketeers<\/span><\/b>
Chris O\u2019Donnell<\/b> is an absolutely brutal actor, my god. The accents in this movie are???????
There\u2019s not much to say here. They should remake this as an animated movie and make it good. 1\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

26. Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit<\/span><\/b>
Throw this on the pile of unnecessary sequels that should have never been made. I never really cared for Sister Act<\/i>, so I hadn\u2019t bothered to see Sister Act 2<\/i>. I\u2019ve seen it now and I wish I hadn\u2019t. Whoopi Goldberg<\/b> has to pretend to be a nun again, but this time to save a troubled school \u2013 she is neither a nun, nor a teacher, but somehow, she\u2019s the only one qualified for the job. It\u2019s just\u2026hard to sit through. 1\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

25. Malice<\/span><\/b>
Yet another poorly constructed adult thriller \u2013 this one co-written by Aaron Sorkin<\/b>. This is one of the weirdest fucking movies I ever seen in my life. I kept asking myself, \u201cwho the fuck wrote this?\u201d and then going, \u201coh yeah, Aaron Sorkin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicole Kidman<\/b> and Bill Pullman <\/b>play a married couple who rent out a room to a hot shot surgeon played by Alec Baldwin<\/b>. Things so awry when Baldwin has to perform surgery on Kidman and complications occur. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a serial killer (played by Tobin Bell<\/b>) running around this town that\u2026doesn\u2019t actually feature into the main plot of the film in any meaningful way and is sort of unnecessary lmao. Like a whole ass filler serial killer plot for no reason other than to give the characters somewhere to be and something to talk about. It\u2019s bizarre. 1\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

24. Rookie of the Year<\/span><\/b>
Obviously, this movie isn\u2019t for me \u2013 it\u2019s about a kid who breaks his arm one summer, it heals weird enough to give him a borderline superpower, and he ends up becoming the new pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. <\/p>\n

A lot of the humour and dialogue is outdated and a little weird at times \u2013 but overall, it\u2019s not terrible. The child actors come through with their performances and some of the humour does manage to land. 1\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

23. Made in America<\/span><\/b>
Whoopi Goldberg<\/b>, Ted Danson<\/b>, Nia Long<\/b>, Jennifer Tilly<\/b>, and Will Smith <\/b>(who plays a character named Tea Cake\u2026) star in this movie about an 18-year-old girl who discovers through a blood test that her mother conceived her using a sperm donor. When she follows-up to try and find her father, she discovers that the donor is a white man. This is one of those movies with a ton of wasted talent. <\/p>\n

The IRL drama is more interesting than the movie \u2013 Ted Danson & Whoopi Goldberg had been friends before this movie. After working on this movie together, the two started having an affair while Danson was still married to his wife of 16 years, Cassandra Coates \u2013 the resulting divorce was one of the most expensive at the time! 1\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

22. Beethoven\u2019s 2nd<\/span><\/b>
The Beethoven movies are PEAK 90s to me. I will NEVER get over that the eldest daughter is named Ryce. I couldn\u2019t get over it when I first saw Beethoven<\/i> and I\u2019m still not over it lmao. Anyway, in this one, Beethoven falls in love with another St. Bernard at the park and the race is on to save her from her evil owner. It\u2019s hard to rate these kid\u2019s movies since I\u2019m an adult, but it\u2019s decent and cute. 1.5\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

21. Cliffhanger<\/span><\/b>
Another movie that opens with a woman\u2019s death to give men some sort of emotional motivation (yawn) \u2013 I\u2019m not even sure why that\u2019s necessary given the plot of this thing. A bunch of thieves try to steal a load of cash being transported by plane, but the mid-air heist goes awry and the cases of money fall into the mountains below. A rock-climbing search and rescue team and the thieves scramble to get to the money. John Lithgow<\/b> does a really bad British accent in this, so trigger warning if that\u2019s something that\u2019s going to send you over the edge lol. Cliffhanger<\/i> is pretty nonsensical but it certainly isn\u2019t the worst thing on this list. It\u2019s the definition of mindless entertainment. 2\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

[<\/span><\/svg>The Middle of the Pack: 20-11<\/a><\/b>]<\/span><\/span>
The Middle of the Pack: 20-11<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

20. Sommersby<\/span><\/b>
I was reminded of that viral tweet which said that some people can\u2019t be realistically cast in a period piece (like Jessica Biel having the face of someone who knows about text messaging). I felt the same here with Richard Gere<\/b> \u2013 no amount of scruff or grime could make me suspend my disbelief for long enough to ever pretend that this is a man that could have existed in the 1800s. While I do love a period drama \u2013 this movie is pretty slow and not all that interesting despite elements of a premise that could have delivered a lot more than it did. 2\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

19. The Firm<\/span><\/b>
I generally try to avoid Tom Cruise<\/b> films \u2013 I do not enjoy this man. This one is about a Harvard graduate that joins a small Memphis law firm that turns out to be, basically, a weird and murderous cult (lmao how prophetic!). This movie is 2.5 fucking hours long, loses a ton of steam towards the middle-end, and contains a very NSFL scene where Holly Hunter<\/b> makes out with Gary Busey<\/b> while his eyes are open. Tom Cruise also beats up Wilford Brimley<\/b>. 2.5\/5 <\/b><\/p>\n

18. The Fugitive<\/span><\/b>
Maybe I was in a bad mood when I watched this one given the high critical ratings it has, but I\u2019m pretty sick of movies about violence against women and the poor men who are affected by it. It\u2019s just the same fucking story over and over again. Living in a patriarchy is so creatively boring. N E WAY\u2026putting that aside, as a movie it\u2019s fine \u2013 the acting is good and it moves along decently enough. Harrison Ford<\/b> basically plays an invincible genius – it gets fucking old pretty quickly. We get an obligatory tough man scene where he stitches himself back up after getting injured in an explosive train\/car accident and then not too long after that he yeets himself off a fucking dam and survives lmao. Mmkay. 2.5\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

17. The Pelican Brief<\/span><\/b>
Another 2.5 hour movie (well, just about). I guess long ass mainstream movies aren\u2019t as much of a new phenomenon as I thought. Julia Roberts<\/b> and Denzel Washington<\/b> star in this legal\/political\/assassination-based thriller which, I\u2019m learning, is very on brand for 1993. They\u2019re both incredibly hot in this movie which makes up for some of the lagging in the plot and the length of the movie. 3\/5 <\/b><\/p>\n

16. Tombstone<\/span><\/b>
This one was tough to rate because I\u2019m not a big western fan and haven\u2019t seen too many to begin with, so I don\u2019t know where this ranks in the world of westerns. I will say, there were some very beautiful shots in this film. Ultimately, I just wasn\u2019t totally engaged by this one, but maybe it just wasn\u2019t my thing. 3.5\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

Addendum:<\/b> Going over this list before posting, and I don\u2019t even remember most of this movie. I couldn\u2019t tell you the plot if I tried. Clearly my brain did not think this movie was all that worth remembering. Is it rated too highly? I have no idea. It probably is. Maybe I gave it an extra point for the unreal use of guyliner. <\/p>\n

15. Philadelphia<\/span><\/b>
I have heard reference to this movie for decades. I knew it was a Tom Hanks<\/b> film. HOWEVER, I had never seen the film, nor did I really know what it was about. When I read the synopsis, I audibly went, \u201cWHAT!?\u201d For some reason I thought this was either a movie about baseball or a romcom or maybe both lmao. Welp. This being another legal drama is right on track for these 1993 films. <\/p>\n

Some thoughts: 1) What is this grey filter over the movie!? Everything looks dusty. 2) Young Antonio Banderas<\/b> was a fucking smoke show, holy shit. 3.5\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

14. Groundhog Day<\/span><\/b>
Bill Murray<\/b> was back in the news in 2023 for dating\u2026Kelis\u2026 I just\u2026the universe works in mysterious ways I guess. When we cycle back on things they return in such weird iterations. He\u2019s a fucking asshole, both IRL and in this movie. That being said, this is still such a novel idea for a film and it produces some genuine laughs. 3.5\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

13. Sleepless in Seattle<\/span><\/b>
I\u2019m not usually one for romcoms, but this one about a woman who has a parasocial relationship with a stranger on the radio and then makes it real (after stalking him for a bit) makes for a pretty enjoyable watch. Bits and pieces of this haven\u2019t aged well, but overall it\u2019s funny and Meg Ryan<\/b> is charming. <\/p>\n

Side note, but this movie makes reference to a man that makes the greatest soup but is the meanest man in America, which obviously reminded me of Seinfeld\u2019s Soup Nazi episode, which led me to google where I learned that both references are based on a real man. Moody icon! 3.5\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

12. Dave<\/span><\/b>
These are the Daves I know I know, these are the Daves I know. Daaaave Kovic, he is a regular guy. He looks like the president and that\u2019s the plot of this movie! These are the Daves I know I know, these are the Daves I know. <\/p>\n