https://preview.redd.it/vy035zlxz04d1.png?width=1920&format=png&auto=webp&s=d0e44d2c15efeb0e4509665368da69df4b50c058
Here's a new edition of "Directors at the Box Office", which seeks to explore the directors' trajectory at the box office and analyze their hits and bombs. I already talked about a few, and as I promised, it's Richard Donner's turn.
Initially, Donner wanted to develop a career as an actor. He gained a bit part in a television program directed by Martin Ritt, who encouraged Donner to become a director instead, and he hired Donner as his assistant. Through his connections in Desilu, he started directing commercials. In the 60s, he transitioned into television, directing episodes for shows like The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Get Smart, and Gilligan's Island. Afterwards, he had his chance to direct films.
From a box office perspective, how reliable was he to deliver a box office hit?
That's the point of this post. To analyze his career.

It should be noted that as he started his career in the 1960s, the domestic grosses here will be adjusted by inflation. The table with his highest grossing films, however, will be left in its unadjusted form, as the worldwide grosses are more difficult to adjust.

X-15 (1961)

"Actually filmed in space!"
His directorial debut. It stars David McLean, Charles Bronson, James Gregory and Mary Tyler Moore, and presents a fictionalized account of the X-15 research rocket aircraft program, the test pilots who flew the aircraft, and the associated NASA community that supported the program.
There are no box office numbers available, but it is said that it had a short and poor theatrical run. Reviews were mixed, and Moore said she's not proud of the film.

Salt and Pepper (1965)

"Join the club."
His second film. It stars Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Michael Bates, Ilona Rodgers and John Le Mesurier, and follows two nightclub owners finding themselves in trouble over a woman's death.
It received mixed reviews, and it earned $1.75 million in rentals.

• Budget: N/A.
  
• Domestic gross: $1,750,000 in rentals. ($17.4 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $1,750,000.
  

Lola (1970)

"It may be love... but it's definitely exhausting!"
His third film. It stars Charles Bronson and Susan George, and follows a 38-year-old writer of pornographic novels who meets and falls in love with a sixteen-year-old school girl whilst living in London.
There are no box office figures, but you can be sure of something: it was panned by everyone.

The Omen (1976)

"If something frightening happens to you today, think about it."
His fourth film. It stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Spencer Stephens, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Troughton, Martin Benson, and Leo McKern. The film's plot follows Damien Thorn, a young child replaced at birth by his father, unbeknownst to his wife, after their biological child dies shortly after birth. As a series of mysterious events and violent deaths occur around the family and Damien enters childhood, they come to learn he is in fact the prophesied Antichrist.
Producer Harvey Bernhard came up with the idea for a film about the Antichrist after talking with one of his friends. WB was on board, but they later pulled out, so 20th Century Fox agreed to distribute the film. Donner favored an ambiguous reading of the script under which it would be left for the audience to decide whether Damien was the Antichrist or whether the series of violent deaths in the film were all just a string of unfortunate accidents. Seltzer rejected the ambiguity favored by Donner and pressed for an interpretation of his script that left no doubt for the audience that Damien Thorn was the Antichrist and that all of the deaths in the film were caused by the malevolent power of Satan, the interpretation that Bernhard chose to go with.
There were some... dark stories over the making of the film. Some aren't confirmed, but others are verified. So take the following with huge grains of salt.
In September 1975, Peck was flying to London, and during the flight, lightning struck the plane. Shortly after, executive producer Mace Neufeld's plane was also struck by lightning while en route to Los Angeles. That's twice in a span of only a few weeks. Then, writer David Seltzer's plane was also struck by lightning. And, while filming in Rome, lightning narrowly missed striking Bernhard. Lightning may never strike twice, but four times, and to different people whose only six degrees of separation at the time was The Omen? Oh, it gets even creepier. A scene was postponed, which meant Peck was not needed on the set, so a private jet that the crew was going to charter to bring Peck in was not necessary. The next day, it was reported that the plane they had intended to book hit a flock of birds and crashed, killing everyone on board.
Neufeld, probably already on edge after his plane was struck by lightning, was planning to eat at a restaurant nearby, but it was hit by an IRA bombing. The day after filming, the hotel that Donner had stayed at was also bombed.
John Richardson, the set designer, created a particularly macabre scene where a character dies from decapitation resulting from an automobile accident. While in Holland in August 1976, Richardson and his assistant, Liz Moore, were struck by a freakishly unfortunate fate. They fell victims to a head-on-collision, where Moore was cut in half, in similar fashion to the one Richardson had designed for the film. It happened in a Friday the 13th, near a road sign which says: “Ommen, 66.6 km.”
Does that send you shivers down your spine?
Is all of this true? I... I'm not sure. I don't fully believe it. But I also don't fully not believe it. Whatever the case, it's truly one of the most insane behind-the-scenes stuff.
After a slate of weak films, Donner finally got his big break here. The film earned $78 million worldwide, becoming a huge box office success. While it initially received mixed reviews, its reputation grew with time and it has been named as one of the best horror films of the 1970s. It would spawn a franchise, but Donner didn't return for the director's chair. Why? He was preparing for something super.

• Budget: $2,800,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $60,922,980. ($335.7 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $78,722,980.
  

Superman (1978)

"You'll believe a man can fly."
His fifth film. Based on the DC Comics character, it stars Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Jeff East, Margot Kidder, Glenn Ford, Phyllis Thaxter, Jackie Cooper, Trevor Howard, Marc McClure, Terence Stamp, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty, Jack O'Halloran, Maria Schell, and Sarah Douglas. It depicts the origin of Superman, including his infancy as Kal-El of Krypton, son of Jor-El, and his youthful years in the rural town of Smallville. Disguised as reporter Clark Kent, he adopts a mild-mannered disposition in Metropolis and develops a romance with Lois Lane while battling the villainous Lex Luthor.
Ilya Salkind had first conceived the idea for a Superman film in late 1973, and he bought the rights with his father Alexander the following year. DC wanted a list of actors that were to be considered for Superman, and approved the producer's choices of Muhammad Ali, Al Pacino, James Caan, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood and Dustin Hoffman. The filmmakers felt it was best to film Superman and Superman II back-to-back, and to make a negative pickup deal with Warner Bros. To show how serious he was, Alexander hired Mario Puzo (The Godfather) and paid him $600,000 to write the script.
Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, William Friedkin, Richard Lester, Peter Yates, John Guillermin, Ronald Neame and Sam Peckinpah were in negotiations to direct. Ilya wanted to hire Steven Spielberg to direct, but Alexander was skeptical, feeling it was best to "wait until [Spielberg's] big fish opens." His film, Jaws, became the highest grossing film ever, and the Salkinds offered him the job, but by that point Spielberg chose to make Close Encounters of the Third Kind instead. Guy Hamilton was hired, but left before filming due to legal issues. After seeing The Omen, the producers offered the job to Donner. He was planning to direct the Omen sequel, but decided to take Superman instead. Donner was dissatisfied with the campy script and brought in Tom Mankiewicz to perform a rewrite to start from scratch. According to Mankiewicz, "not a word from the Puzo script was used."
Before Donner signed, the film already cast Marlon Brando as Jor-El in 1975. And his terms were insane; top billing, a salary of $3.7 million and 11.75% of the box office gross profits (totaling $19 million), and his scenes had to be filmed in 12 days. He also refused to memorize his dialogue, so cue cards were compiled across the set. Hackman was cast as Lex Luthor days later, getting a $2 million salary. The filmmakers made it a priority to shoot all of Brando's and Hackman's footage "because they would be committed to other films immediately."
The first plan was for a famous star to play Superman, although Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, Sylvester Stallone and Paul Newman all declined. When Donner signed, he decided to get an unknown actor. Reeve was suggested, but Donner and the producers felt he was too young and skinny. When other actors weren't convincing, they decided to give a screen test to Reeve. They wanted him to wear a muscle suit, but Reeve instead decided to take a strict physical exercise regime headed by David Prowse. After gaining enough weight, he was cast. Compared to Brando and Hackman, Reeve was paid just $250,000 for Superman and its sequel.
Filming began in March 1977, and it lasted 19 months because they were filming two films. The budget was $55 million ($303 million adjusted), which made it the most expensive film by that point. Warner Bros. only planned to distribute the film in North America, but was so impressed by the Krypton sequence, that they decided to distribute it worldwide. It was supposed to last eight months, but there were conflicts on set.
Donner had tensions with the Salkinds and producer Pierre Spengler concerning the escalating production budget and the shooting schedule. Richard Lester, who worked with the Salkinds on The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, was then brought in as a temporary co-producer to mediate the relationship between Donner and the Salkinds, who by now were refusing to talk to each other. On his relationship with Spengler, Donner remarked, "At one time if I'd seen him, I would have killed him." Due to this, they decided to stop filming back-to-back with the sequel, and Donner was assigned to finish the first film. By that point, 75% was already shot by Donner.
The film opened with $7.4 million in its first weekend, despite playing at just 508 theaters, breaking a record for Warner Bros. As it expanded, it earned $10.3 million in its third weekend, which was the biggest weekend in history. Through the December 22-28 week, it earned a colossal $18.5 million, a figure that no film achieved in just 7 days. It eventually closed its domestic run with $134 million. And WB was right in believing in its worldwide prospects, as the film earned a huge $300 million, becoming their highest grossing film.
The film also received critical acclaim, and it has been named as one of the best films of the 1970s. It won a Special Oscar for its Visual Effects. The film was deemed a cultural landmark for comic books, and it has been proclaimed by many as perhaps the most influential comic book film ever. For the world finally believed that, indeed, a man could fly.
With this, Superman was finally an icon on the big screen. While Donner filmed 75% of Superman II, he was controversially fired before resuming his duties. There would be more Superman films in subsequent years (including one next year), but none have captured the cultural zeitgeist that this one achieved.

• Budget: $55,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $134,478,449. ($646.7 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $300,478,449.
  

Inside Moves (1980)

"It'll make you feel good, and that ain't bad."
His sixth film. Based on the novel by Todd Walton, it stars John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid, and Amy Wright. It follows a man who became crippled after a failed suicide attempt, and he turns to drink, favoring a local dive bar frequented by the handicapped. There, he befriends the bartender, an ex-basketball player saving up for corrective surgery in hopes of returning to the court, and meets a kind young lady who aids him with his physical and mental rehabilitation.
Donner states that he agreed to direct the film only to take his mind off being fired and replaced from Superman II. He referred to the film as "the smallest film I could do that was just very near and dear to me, at that point, and I felt this is going to take my mind totally off that."
It received mixed reviews, and made just $1.2 million at the box office.

• Budget: N/A.
  
• Domestic gross: $1,200,000. ($4.5 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $1,200,000.
  

The Toy (1982)

"When Jackie Gleason told his son he could have any present he wanted, he picked the most outrageous gift of all... Richard Pryor."
His seventh film. The film stars Richard Pryor, Jackie Gleason and Scott Schwartz, and follows a janitor at a department store. The owner's son is told that he may have anything in the toy department. He chooses the janitor, who the owner pays to spend a week with the boy.
The film was panned by critics, and was named as one of the worst films of the year. But with $47 million at the box office, it was still a success.

• Budget: $17,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $47,118,057. ($153 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $47,118,057.
  

The Goonies (1985)

"Join the adventure."
His eighth film. The film stars Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan, John Matuszak, Anne Ramsey, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano and Mary Ellen Trainor. In the film, a group of kids who live in the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, attempt to save their homes from foreclosure and, in doing so, they discover an old treasure map that takes them on an adventure to unearth the long-lost fortune of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary 17th-century pirate. During the adventure, they are pursued by a family of criminals who want the treasure for themselves.
Donner noted both the difficulties and pleasures of working with so many child actors. He praised them for their energy and excitement, but also said that they were also unruly when brought together. While Donner is credited as the director, some have referred to producer Steven Spielberg as co-director.
The film received a great response, and after a slate of weak films, Donner bounced back with a much needed box office hit. The film was very influential, and it helped launch the careers of many of its stars.

• Budget: $19,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $63,711,145. ($185.6 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $124,311,145.
  

Ladyhawke (1985)

"A magical adventure."
His ninth film. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer. The story is about a young thief who becomes unwillingly involved with a warrior and his lady who are hunted by the Bishop of Aquila. As he learns about the couple's past and secret, he chooses to help them overcome the Bishop's forces, and to lift an infernal curse.
It received mixed reviews, and it failed to recoup its $20 million budget.

• Budget: $20,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $18,432,000. ($53.7 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $18,432,000.
  

Lethal Weapon (1987)

"Two cops. Glover carries a weapon. Gibson is one. He's the only L.A. cop registed as a..."
His tenth film. It stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. The film follows a pair of mismatched LAPD detectives — Martin Riggs, a former Green Beret who has become suicidal following the death of his wife, and veteran officer and family man Roger Murtaugh — who work together as partners.
Recent UCLA graduate Shane Black wrote the screenplay in mid-1985. Black stated that his intention was to do an "urban western" inspired by Dirty Harry where a violent character "reviled for what he did, what he is capable of, the things he believed in" is eventually recruited for being the one that could solve the problem. His first draft was quite different from the final film; it was darker in tone and it included massive action scale sequences. The ending of the script contained a chase scene with helicopters and a trailer truck full of cocaine exploding over Hollywood Hills with cocaine snowing over the Hollywood sign.
The script was rejected by some studios, but Warner Bros. took an interest. Producer Joel Silver was brought in and worked with Black to further develop the script. Donner also brought in writer Jeffrey Boam to do some uncredited re-writes on Black's script after he found parts of it to be too dark. Donner got Gibson involved, while someone else suggested Danny Glover. After a successful screen test, the film was greenlit.
The film was a huge hit, earning $120 million worldwide and continued launching the careers of Gibson and Glover, even if they already had a few recognizable titles by that point. It also received very positive reviews, and was another prime example of the buddy cop genre. Another Donner W.

• Budget: $15,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $65,207,127. ($179.9 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $120,207,127.
  

Scrooged (1988)

"The spirits will move you in odd and hysterical ways."
His 11th film. Based on the novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, it stars Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Michael J. Pollard, and Alfre Woodard. The film is a modern retelling that follows Frank Cross, a cynical and selfish television executive who is visited by a succession of ghosts on Christmas Eve intent on helping him regain his Christmas spirit.
After Ghostbusters, Murray only took a brief appearance in Little Shop of Horrors and chose to take a break. When he did feel a desire to return to acting, he said the "scripts were just not that good", and he returned to the this project as he found the idea of making a funny Scrooge appealing. Murray was paid $6 million for his role. He helped the writers, Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue, in rewriting.
Murray struggled with a scene where he reveals his redemption live on TV. Wanting a central acting moment, however, Murray gave an emotional and intense performance, deviating from his marked positions and improvising his speech. Glazer and O'Donoghue thought that the actor was suffering a mental breakdown. After he was finished, the crew applauded Murray, but O'Donoghue remarked "What was that? The Jim Jones hour?" Donner turned and punched O'Donoghue in the arm, leaving him bruised for a week.
Despite the commitment, however, there was drama behind the scenes. Murray said that while he was enjoying the experience of the script and having fun as "the meanest person in the world", he found the production "sloppy" and has expressed unhappiness with the final cut. For his part, O'Donoghue later said that Donner did not understand comedy, omitting the script's subtler elements for louder and faster moments. He estimated that only 40% of his and Glazer's original script made it into the final film and the surviving content was "twisted". Murray was also not content with Donner, "Scrooged could have been a really, really great movie. The script was so good... He kept telling me to do things louder, louder, louder. I think he was deaf." Donner, meanwhile, has a much more positive memory of Murray, calling him "superbly creative but occasionally difficult - as difficult as any actor."
The film received polarizing reactions, particularly for the tone. But as it was Murray's follow-up to Ghostbusters, it made $100 million worldwide, making it a box office success. In subsequent years, it has become a Christmas classic.

• Budget: $32,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $60,328,558. ($159.8 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $100,328,558.
  

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

"The magic is back."
His 12th film. The second installment in the Lethal Weapon franchise, it stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O'Connor and Patsy Kensit. In the film, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh protect an irritating federal witness, Leo Getz, while taking on a gang of South African drug dealers hiding behind diplomatic immunity.
After the first film's success, Joel Silver asked Shane Black to write a sequel. Although he was struggling with personal issues, Black still managed to write the first draft along with his friend, novelist Warren Murphy. Although many people thought that their script was brilliant, it was rejected by Silver, Donner and the studio for being too dark and bloody, and because in the ending of the script Riggs dies, while they wanted to keep him alive in case of further sequels. They also wanted the second film to focus more on comedy, while Black's draft focused more on courage and heroics, like Riggs willing to die to protect Murtaugh and his family, due to his love for them.
When his script was rejected, Black felt that he had failed the producers. Black refused to re-write the script and quit from the project after working for six months on it. Black later said how the problem with the second film was that they did too much comedy, and how he dislikes the third and fourth films because of the way Riggs's character was changed. Donner got Jeffrey Boam back to rewrite, and one of the biggest changes was expanding Leo Getz's character.
The film received very great reviews, and saw a big increase from the original, earning $227 million worldwide.

• Budget: $30,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $147,253,986. ($372.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $227,853,986.
  

Radio Flyer (1992)

"Powered by imagination."
His 13th film. The film stars Lorraine Bracco, John Heard, Elijah Wood, Joseph Mazzello, Adam Baldwin, and Ben Johnson and is narrated by Tom Hanks. Two young boys try to transform their toy into an airplane after their stepfather turns abusive. They wish to escape the physical abuse and fly away to safety.
The film received negative reviews, and it barely got 10% of its budget. Luckily for Donner, he had another film for that year.

• Budget: $35,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $4,651,977. ($10.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $4,651,977.
  

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

"The magic is back again."
His 14th film. The third installment in the Lethal Weapon franchise, it stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, and Stuart Wilson. In the film, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh pursue Jack Travis, a former LAPD lieutenant turned ruthless arms dealer, during the six days prior to Murtaugh's retirement. Riggs and Murtaugh are joined by Leo Getz as well as internal affairs Sergeant Lorna Cole.
Jeffrey Boam's first two drafts of the script were different from the final film. The character of Lorna for example was not a woman in original drafts, but the original character still had the same personality and was just as lethal and crazy as Riggs, making him his match. Riggs also had an affair with Roger's daughter Rianne, and a few parts in the final film where Roger suspects that Riggs and Rianne are interested in each other are only parts left from the original drafts. Donner demanded some big changes on the script which included changing the original character of Lorna into a woman and turning her into Riggs's girlfriend. He also re-worked the script to be less story-oriented and not focus on the main villains but instead on the relationship between Riggs and Murtaugh. He also toned down action scenes from the script and brought back Leo Getz into the story. All of his scenes were written in afterwards.
The film received mixed reviews and was considered as weaker than the previous films. But it still earned $320 million worldwide, becoming the highest grossing film in the franchise and Donner's highest grossing film (although Superman still has that title adjusted for inflation).

• Budget: $35,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $144,731,527. ($323.4 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $321,731,527.
  

Maverick (1994)

"In their hands, a deck of cards was the only thing more dangerous than a gun."
His 15th film. Based on the 1957–1962 television series, it stars Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner (who starred in the original series). The film follows Bret Maverick, a card player and con artist who collects money in order to enter a high-stakes poker game. He is joined in his adventure by Annabelle Bransford, another con artist, and Marshal Zane Cooper, a lawman.
The film received positive reviews, and was another great success at the box office, earning $183 million worldwide.

• Budget: $75,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $101,631,272. ($215 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $183,031,272.
  

Assassins (1995)

"In the shadows of life, in the business of death, one man found a reason to live..."
His 16th film. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, and Julianne Moore. Professional hit-man Robert Rath wants to fulfill a few more contracts before retiring but unscrupulous ambitious newcomer hit-man Miguel Bain keeps killing Rath's targets.
The film was panned by critics, and was a box office flop.

• Budget: $50,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $30,303,072. ($62.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $83,306,268.
  

Conspiracy Theory (1997)

"Jerry Fletcher sees conspiracies everywhere... one has turned out to be true. Now his enemies want him dead. And she's the only one he can trust."
His 17th film. It stars Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts and Patrick Stewart, and centers on an eccentric taxi driver who believes many world events are triggered by government conspiracies, and the Justice Department attorney who becomes involved in his life.
The film received mixed reviews, and despite earning $137 million worldwide, it wasn't a box office success due to its high budget.

• Budget: $80,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $75,982,834. ($148.4 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $136,982,834.
  

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

"The gang's all here."
His 18th film. The fourth and final installment in the Lethal Weapon franchise, it stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock, and Jet Li. It follows Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh as they investigate a Chinese immigrant smuggling ring. A crime boss named Benny Chan leads them to the Chinatown.
Wanting another film in the franchise, Warner Bros. and Joel Silver tried buying a new spec script titled Simon Says in hopes of rewriting it into a script for Lethal Weapon 4. Written by Jonathan Hensleigh, the story was about a police detective and a shop owner forced to find and stop bombs planted all over a city as part of a mad bomber's revenge plot against the detective. 20th Century Fox then bought the script, and decided to use it as the basis for a new Die Hard film, Die Hard with a Vengeance. Donner was committed to another film, but Gibson was not interested.
The film had a very difficult pre-production, as the script was still being re-written and rejected. Silver ultimately brought in TV writer Channing Gibson to work on the script, after he was impressed by Gibson's rewrite of a spec script titled Sandblast. Gibson took the gig thinking it would be a more relaxed writing job than anything he did for TV. However, much like the previous two sequels, the script kept getting changed and rewritten over and over again. Gibson would end up doing more work and revisions on it than on all of his TV work put together. Production even started with only half of the script.
Something you might have noticed, is that the budget was far larger than the previous films. While the previous two films cost $30-$35 million, Lethal Weapon 4 had a budget of... $150 million ($288 million adjusted). Which means that at that point, it was the most expensive R-rated film ever and the third most expensive film, just behind Titanic and Waterworld. Why? Because the delays kept coming... but Warner Bros. was desperate in greenlighting the film. Realizing they had no big tentpole releases scheduled for summer 1998, Warner Bros. finally greenlit the film in late 1997. So they opened all their wallets and started shooting in January 1998, despite having one third of the film not written yet, including the ending. Due to issues during filming, including the script changes, production ended around mid May, less than two months before its scheduled July release. The ending was not written until it was finally time to film it. Editors had to work very quickly to have the film ready, which is why the trailers feature some deleted and alternate scenes which are not in the film. So the film was greenlit, filmed and released in theaters in the span of just 7 months.
The film received mixed reviews. And if Warner Bros. was confident that spending $150 million to rush a film was worth it, they were in for a rude awakening. The film earned just $285 million worldwide, which meant that the film was a box office flop.
It was the last film in the franchise. Although a gang in a pub in Philadelphia kept the spirit alive by making three sequels, one of which had Danny DeVito as the bad guy.

• Budget: $150,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $130,444,603. ($250.9 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $285,444,603.
  

Timeline (2003)

"You're history."
His 19th film. Based on the novel by Michael Crichton, it stars Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly, David Thewlis, and Anna Friel. It follows a team of present-day archaeology and history students who are sent back in time to medieval France to rescue their professor from the middle of a battle.
The film was a critical and commercial failure.

• Budget: $80,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $19,481,943. ($33.1 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $43,935,763.
  

16 Blocks (2006)

"1 Witness... 118 Minutes."
His 20th and final film. It stars Bruce Willis, Mos Def, and David Morse. The film unfolds in the real time narration method, and follows Jack, who is assigned the task of escorting Eddie, a witness, from police custody to the courthouse. However, when they are attacked on the way, Jack learns that the entire NYPD wants Eddie dead.
The film received mixed reviews, and it marked his fifth bomb in a row. It was his final film before his death in 2021.

• Budget: $52,000,000.
  
• Domestic gross: $36,895,141. ($57.3 million adjusted)
  
• Worldwide gross: $65,664,721.
  

MOVIES (FROM HIGHEST GROSSING TO LEAST GROSSING)

No.	Movie	Year	Studio	Domestic Total	Overseas Total	Worldwide Total	Budget
1	Lethal Weapon 3	1992	Warner Bros.	$144,731,527	$177,000,000	$321,731,527	$35M
2	Superman	1978	Warner Bros.	$134,478,449	$166,000,000	$300,478,449	$55M
3	Lethal Weapon 4	1998	Warner Bros.	$130,444,603	$155,000,000	$285,444,603	$150M
4	Lethal Weapon 2	1989	Warner Bros.	$147,253,986	$80,600,000	$227,853,986	$30M
5	Maverick	1994	Warner Bros.	$101,631,272	$81,400,000	$183,031,272	$75M
6	Conspiracy Theory	1997	Warner Bros.	$75,982,834	$61,000,000	$136,982,834	$80M
7	The Goonies	1985	Warner Bros.	$63,711,145	$60,600,000	$124,311,145	$19M
8	Lethal Weapon	1987	Warner Bros.	$65,207,127	$55,000,000	$120,207,127	$15M
9	Scrooged	1988	Paramount	$60,328,558	$40,000,000	$100,328,558	$32M
10	Assassins	1995	Warner Bros.	$30,303,072	$53,000,000	$83,306,268	$50M
11	The Omen	1976	20th Century Fox	$60,922,980	$17,800,000	$78,722,980	$2.8M
12	16 Blocks	2006	Warner Bros.	$36,895,141	$28,769,580	$65,664,721	$52M
13	The Toy	1982	20th Century Fox	$47,118,057	$0	$47,118,057	$17M
14	Timeline	2003	Paramount	$19,481,943	$24,453,820	$43,935,763	$80M
15	Ladyhawke	1985	Warner Bros. / 20th Century Fox	$18,432,000	$0	$18,432,000	$20M
16	Radio Flyer	1992	Columbia	$4,651,977	$0	$4,651,977	$35M
17	Salt and Pepper	1965	United Artists	$1,750,000	$0	$1,750,000	N/A
18	Inside Moves	1980	Associated Film Distribution	$1,200,000	$0	$1,200,000	N/A

He made 20 films, but only 18 have reported box office numbers. Across those 18 films, he made $2,146,151,267 worldwide. That's $119,230,625 per film.

The Verdict

Despite the inconsistency of his filmography, it's hard to deny Donner as a very influential figure of cinema.
He was an expert in handling many genres; you'd expect the director of The Goonies to make 4 Lethal Weapon films? Or that the guy who made The Omen would make Scrooged? Sure, his last films indicated that he might have lost it, but you can't blame him for trying. The fact that he was willing to make Lethal Weapon 5 before his death show he was very committed. He was never too old for this shit.
And of course, there's Superman. The film that changed comic book films as we know them. It wasn't the first, but it was perhaps the most influential. There's an argument that either Batman, The Dark Knight, Iron Man, The Avengers, Deadpool or Joker are more influential, but those films wouldn't exist today if it wasn't for Donner. It's why Kevin Feige shows the film to all the cast and crew before filming any MCU film. If the film was put in the careless hands of a mediocre director, it would've been forgotten almost immediately. And the genre would be very different today. So it's a testament to the strength of the film of how much it could change the landscape of what was possible. He and Christopher Reeve really offered something fresh and exciting. They truly made the world believe a man could fly.
Hope you liked this edition. You can find this and more in the wiki for this section.
The next director will be Ang Lee. A very important filmmaker.
I asked you to choose who else should be in the run and the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen. Well, we'll later talk about... Roland Emmerich. Is it Joever for him?
This is the schedule for the following four:

Week	Director	Reasoning
June 3-9	Ang Lee	What happened to Lee?
June 10-16	Zack Snyder	RIP Inbox.
June 17-23	Tony Scott	Action films have not been the same ever since his death.
June 24-30	Roland Emmerich	The King of disaster films.

Who should be next after Emmerich? That's up to you. But there's a catch.
For this week, you'll choose from four options, all picked by me. So we won't accept any other suggestions this week. I'll give you four directors, and the director with the most upvotes will get his own post. And here they are:

• Joe Dante: Like Donner, a very influential figure of the 70s and 80s.
  
• Renny Harlin: One of the most popular directors with the biggest amount of flops. How does he do it?
  
• John McTiernan: An important action filmmaker... who literally went to jail.
  
• Rob Reiner: Another actor who had an incredible run as a director, before falling with North.
  

So which one should be next? That's up to you.

Nicolás de Ovando, gobernador de la Isla, en 1508 tenía a “orillas del río Iguamón…” labriegos españoles dedicados al cultivo de frutos menores y a la crianza de cerdos. Desde esa época el río está estrechamente ligado al desarrollo económico del área. Allí, para 1546, Diego Colón Toledo y Jerónimo de Agüero habían instalado un ingenio a orillas del río Almirante, un afluente del Higuamo. Es la primera industria establecida en el área. En 1594 fue instalado otro ingenio en la boca y el puerto del río Macorix, nombre que ya recibía desde 1577. Esta factoría era propiedad de Gregorio de Ayala, regidor de Santo Domingo, y era la más importante hasta ese momento.
La gran actividad mercantil dio lugar al contrabando de azúcar, frutos menores y pescado, por el Higuamo, y de reses y cueros, por el Soco. Lo que era atribuido por las autoridades a corsarios ingleses y franceses, y que llevó al gobernador de la colonia, Carlos Urrutia, a nombrar a Juan Antonio Aybar como Alcalde Pedáneo, lo que se efectuó el 16 de septiembre 1815. Esto lo hace la primera autoridad de la comarca.
En 1822, para escapar de la dominación haitiana, un grupo pequeño de familias de la villa de San Carlos de Tenerife y de Santo Domingo se constituyeron en los primeros habitantes de la ciudad de San Pedro de Macorís al instalarse unos en La Isleta y otros en la Punta Macorís, donde tenían garantizado el sustento con la caza, la pesca y el cultivo de frutos menores.
Antes de 1821, escribe Leopoldo Richiez: “esta región permanecía completamente inhabitada, y fue en ese año cuando algunos moradores de la Capital no sé si impulsados por sentimientos patrióticos o si sobrecogidos de espanto ante la realidad dolorosa de la ocupación haitiana, vinieron furtiva y penosamente por el casi intransitable sendero que había cerca de la costa y en pequeñísimas embarcaciones que hacían la pesca diaria en el puerto de la Capital de Santo Domingo de Guzmán”.
Para 1846, debido a que la margen occidental era cenagosa por lo que la expansión del poblado se dificultaba, lo mismo sucedía con las embarcaciones, la mayoría de los habitantes se trasladaron a la margen oriental donde existía una playita en el sector conocido como La Barca, donde se fundó la aldea Mosquito. Mientras otros se desplazan más al sur, donde se estableció la aldea Sol. Con el tiempo ambas aldeas se unieron en torno a la iglesia, que fue el propósito del trinitario padre Pedro Carrasco y Capeller. Así nació Mosquitisol, jurisdicción de El Seibo.
La existencia de estas dos aldeas fue documentadas en “Reseña de los Principales Puertos y Puntos de Anclaje de las Costas de la República Dominicana”, escrita en 1853 por Sir Robert Schomburgk
Entre los primeros habitantes de Mosquitisol están: Valentín Rodríguez, Vicente Ordóñez (Vicente Santa Fe), Juan Eusebio Leoncio, Luis Valera, José Bernardo, Simón Orgé, Higinio Rodríguez, Domingo Ysambert, Alejandro Grigg, Mariano Santana, Bernardino Castillo, Ignacio Quírico, Rafael Castillo, Ramón González(a) portugués, Francisco Alonso(a) Tío Pancho, Marcos Rodríguez, Miguel Agesta y la señora Anita Contreras.
Durante el período 1850-1879, el trapiche pasó a ser el modo de producción más importante de esa época. A tal punto que hizo posible, siendo Antonio Guzmán Jefe Militar, la iluminación de las calles con faroles alimentados con gas kerosene, lo que convirtió a Macorís en la primera ciudad de la región con alumbrado en sus vías públicas. El Primer trapiche instalado fue el Buena Vista, propiedad del canario Vicente Ordóñez, en 1848. Luego le siguieron los de Guadalupe González Leytes, Pedro Camarena y Wenceslao Cestero. El trapiche más importante era de Manuel A. Richiez Cotes, fundado en 1857, tenía instado un alambique para producción de alcohol.
A finales del siglo XIX y en los primeros decenios XX, San Pedro de Macorís alcanzó niveles de desarrollo económico extraordinarios, lo que se atribuye a la instalación de siete ingenios, a la habilitación del puerto para la exportación e importación, que hizo posible que tocaran el puerto de Macorís los vapores de la Clyde, los vapores de las compañías Sobrinos de Herrera, tres americanos y un alemán, así como buques de diferentes procedencias. En esa época, la ciudad tenía un auge económico superior a las demás ciudades del país, lo que coincidió con el aumento de los productos de exportación durante la Primera Guerra Mundial, llegándose a vender el azúcar a un precio nunca antes visto en mayo de 1920, cuando alcanzó el precio récord de 22.5 centavos de dólar la libra. Por lo que a ese período se le llamó “la danza de los millones”.
En San Pedro de Macorís, hacia 1892, había gente de casi todo el país, y también de todo el arco antillano, así como norteamericanos, de Sur y de Centro América, europeos, de Asia: chinos e indios colíes.
Los cubanos formaban parte, en su mayoría, de la clase media en su país y fue debido a la primera guerra de independencia de Cuba (1868-1878) la razón por la que se instalaron en San Pedro de Macorís. Algunos personajes importantes de esa inmigración fueron: Luis Felipe Aza, era el abuelo de la soprano Ivonne Aza; Pipe Mir, padre del Poeta Nacional Pedro Mir; Salvador Emilio Ross, donó terrenos para la construcción de la iglesia y un parque de recreo; Santiago Mellor, donó el Teatro Municipal, después Mellor; Lorenzo de Zayas-Bazán, Mateo Saladrigas.
Los puertorriqueños: Su llegada aquí está relacionada con la crisis económica de finales del siglo XIX. En 1883 Juan Serrallés trajo al ingenio Puerto Rico 37 braceros. En abril de 1893, 41 fueron contratados para trabajar en el Ingenio Consuelo. Esta inmigración aumentó al ser vendidos a norteamericanos los ingenios Consuelo, Porvenir, Santa Fe y Quisqueya.
A la dama puertorriqueña Anita Simón-Pietri se le reconoce haber sido la iniciadora de la sociedad “El Abanico”; Manuel Mallén Ortiz instaló la primera botica, La Macorisana, convertida más tarde en droguería.
Otro grupo de puertorriqueños, poco numeroso, de clase media, migró debido a las luchas anticoloniales y nacionalistas que tenían lugar en Puerto Rico. En esta calidad nos llegaron, en 1917, el periodista Miguel Rodríguez, Esperidón Torres, quien instaló el Gran Hotel Dos Américas, Tácito Fernández, el dirigente obrero Félix Barbosa, Jaime Oliver Clark, quien estuvo presente en la guerra americano-española de Puerto Rico y cuando se produjo el Grito de Lares, al ser perseguido, fue embarcado metido en un saco, hacia San Pedro de Macorís.
Los españoles: En 1861 llegó a San Pedro de Macorís una inmigración de las Islas Canarias; no se ha podido saber cuántos eran, pero sí que se dedicaron al fomento de labranzas.34Tiempo después nos llegaron el ingeniero Nicolás Cortina, Antonio Morey, Francisco Castro Molina, quien instaló el primer salón de barbería de la ciudad, Bernardo Cabrer, quien fundó la primera industria de sombreros para hombres, José Armenteros, inicialmente un pequeño comerciante, los hermanos Nadal Andreu, quienes en sus inicios fueron hoteleros; César Iglesias, fundó la primera industria jabonera del país, la César Iglesias C. x A. Otros españoles: José Martínez Conde, periodista y poeta, padre del laureado artista del pincel y el cincel Luis Martínez Richiez (Luichi); y Antonio Casasnovas, cuyo hijo, el Dr. Juan Casasnovas Garrido, al producirse el golpe de Estado contra el gobierno de Juan Bosch en 1963, era presidente del Senado y a quien la Asamblea Nacional reunida en la clandestinidad invistió como Presidente Constitucional de la República. Casasnovas Garrido no pudo gobernar debido al dominio de las Fuerzas Armadas y de los grupos golpistas. También llegaron a la ciudad españoles refugiados ya para 1939.
Los italianos: Entre estos podemos citar a los hermanos del Giudice, hermanos Di Carlo, Pascual Prota, Nicolino Cataldi, Miguel Piccirilo, Aurelio Cucurulo, Vicini, hermanos Canepa, quienes construyeron el Teatro Colón; y José Oliva. La mayoría eran provenientes del sur de Italia y dedicados a la joyería.
Los alemanes: Era un pequeño núcleo de capitalistas, los cuales establecieron importantes casas comerciales y agencias marítimas, que contribuyeron a dar vida al puerto. Entre ellos Frank Freidheim, quien fuera el primer banquero de Macorís, los hermanos Langer Biderman, Isselin y Vancamper, también banqueros. Otras personalidades fueron el Dr. Carl Th. Georg, los hermanos Steppan, Shultzer, Adolfo Frappier, Herr Hoffman, quien llegó a ser comandante de un submarino alemán.
Los franceses: Este grupo, poco numeroso, tiene entre sus integrantes a los farmacéuticos Silverio Arán y José Augusto Chevalier Turcani, a Juan Martín Santoni, quien fuera Vice-consul francés durante muchos años y al ingeniero Eduardo García, quien participó en el diseño de la torre de la Catedral San Pedro Apóstol.
Los árabes: Llegaron a finales del siglo XIX, procedentes de Arabia, Líbano y Siria; era un grupo numeroso y dedicado a la venta ambulatoria (buhoneros). Luego se convirtieron en los comerciantes más poderosos de la ciudad. A principios del siglo XX llegaron procedentes de Cuba los jóvenes de nacionalidad libanesa Jacobo Merip, Jorge Khourie y Miguel Feris; también llegaron los hermanos Mansur, Miguel Aquiles Nimer, contable de La Venus, también buen pianista, periodista, escritor, crítico literario y poeta.
Los gitanos: Aquí como en muchas otras partes, los gitanos levantaban sus tiendas frente a las puertas de los establecimientos comerciales, pese a las protestas de estos.
Los cocolos: La crisis de industria azucarera en las islas de Sotavento y Barlovento durante el último decenio del siglo XIX y el primero del XX, debida a la caída de las exportaciones de azúcar, fue la razón de este proceso migratorio, que arribó año tras año en oleadas de más de 2,000 braceros a San Pedro de Macorís y La Romana.
Según América Bermúdez: “…esta gente sufrió en carne propia el flagelo del desprecio de los nativos, lo cual los obligó durante largo tiempo a vivir en completo aislamiento y en el más inhóspito sector de la ciudad, al que ellos mismos denominaron Jacob Town”. Y a seguidas puntualiza: “Para paliar los rigores de ese aislamiento, los barloventinos celebraban varios actos religiosos y festivos oriundos de su país, los que con el andar del tiempo fueron entusiasmando a los nativos, de tal forma que hoy son parte muy importante de nuestro folklore, sobresaliendo como pieza importante el festival de los Guloyas”. También se integraron a las logias masónicas y en varias agrupaciones religiosas, como las Iglesia Anglicana, la Metodista Episcopal. Participaron en las asociaciones de socorro y en las organizaciones laborales. Entre los cocolos se destaca Theophilus Chiverton (Primo), era un gran artista y dirigió un grupo de baile dedicado a la difusión de la cultura y ritos de su raza. Hubo también grandes maestros como George Federico Hodge (Mr. Jai), Reverendo T. O. Basden, Aubrey James. Hijos de cocolos fueron: profesor Alberto Byass, quien fuera gobernador de la provincia; el poeta Norberto James Rawlings, Violeta Stephan, soprano lírica; Pruddy Ferdinand, excelente trompetista. Peloteros como Rico Carty, Garabato Sakie, Nelson Norman, Amado Samuel, George Bell y Alfredo Griffin. Hicieron un importante aporte al arte culinario con los yaniqueques, domplines, el fish en su salsa, el funyí y el pan cocolo.
Los haitianos: En su mayoría trabajando en la agricultura, como en el corte de la caña de azúcar, se han establecido principalmente desde el siglo 20 hasta la actualidad, por razones múltiples no se han adaptado a la sociedad dominicana.
Los venezolanos: Llegaron huyendo de los rigores de la guerra civil de Venezuela en 1858. El primer médico titulado que ejerció en esta ciudad lo fue el venezolano Ramón Nonato Martínez. Se destacan las familias Lozada, Martínez Larré, Mundaray, Betancourt, Milián y Viguera.
Los daneses: Aquí tenemos como figura predominante a Gaetán Bucher, primer administrador del ingenio Las Pajas. Su hijo Gaetán Bucher Cortina laboró durante muchos años en empresas del Estado.
Así paulatinamente fue aumentando la población, dedicándose a la producción de víveres, y eran tan grandes las cantidades que llegaban al puerto de la Capital en los botes plataneros de Macorís en los años 1868 al 1875, que allí se bautizó a la antigua morada de pescadores con el nombre de Macorís de los Plátanos.
No fue hasta los días 25 de Agosto de 1859, y el 10 de Febrero del Año 1861, que fueron levantadas las correspondientes actas de la Casa Municipal. En el año 1880, el 3 de noviembre fue promulgado un decreto del Congreso Nacional para habilitar el puerto de San Pedro de Macorís para el comercio de exportación, para facilitar el embarque de los azucares y otros productos hacia el extranjero. Más tarde, en octubre de 1882 y en julio de 1883 después de erección a distrito, fue habilitado el puerto para la importación porque así lo reclamaba ya la importancia que había tomado el comercio. Ingenio Porvenir San Pedro de Macorís fue en el año 1848, cuando inicio lo que le dio el gran impulso al entonces pequeño pueblo Petromacorisano, La Victoriosa Industria Azucarera.
"San Pedro de Macorís se transformó en la época de auge azucarero en la plaza comercial más dinámica de todo el país". La industria azucarera dinamizó otros mercados como artesanías, manufacturas, construcción y comercio en general.
En 1914 llegó a San Pedro de Macorís y al país el primer hidroavión, traído desde Estados Unidos en barco, y en febrero de ese año fue armado detrás de la antigua aduana. Este acontecimiento fue visto por las autoridades municipales como una oportunidad para desarrollar el turismo. Los primeros hidroaviones comerciales en llegar fueron los de la empresa Nyrba Line, cuyos servicios abarcaban casi toda América. Así llegaban a esta ciudad los pasajeros, la correspondencia y la carga aérea de todo el país. Convirtieron a San Pedro de Macorís en pionera en materia de aviación comercial.
A comienzos del siglo XX, San Pedro de Macorís contaba con seis vice-cónsules: de Estados Unidos, Imperio Alemán, Venezuela, España, Francia y Perú. También, desde los años de la Ocupación estadounidense existían en Macorís bancos como el National City Bank y el Royal Bank of Canadá.
Antes de los vuelos en avión, había en Macorís varios buques tales como el Hurón, el Iroquois, el Cherokee y el Algonquín, que hacían ruta entre el puerto de San Pedro de Macorís y los puertos de Estados Unidos y de Europa.
La industria azucarera provocó una transformación sin precedentes en San Pedro de Macorís. En poco tiempo, la ciudad se convirtió en la más moderna del país. Este inusitado desarrollo económico coincidió con innovaciones tecnológicas que se producían en el mundo, y que llegaron primero a San Pedro de Macorís para conferirle ese carácter moderno ya mencionado.
"La ciudad se transformó en un verdadero centro urbano, con señoriales zonas residenciales, casas de concreto armado con estilos arquitectónicos de oriundez europea; amplias avenidas y plazas; la Calzada del Caribe, de Miramar; la impresionante iglesia católica de estilo neogótico con elevada torre-campanario. Tres cines operaban en esa época: Duarte, República y España, y dos teatros, el Restauración y el Colón, en los cuales se montaban obras de famosas compañías extranjeras de aquella época. Este último de tres pisos y en forma de herradura, único de ópera que existía en el país donde debutó el gran Hipólito Lázaro .
Entre las primicias de la ciudad en el país, Victor Villegas señala: el primer edificio de tres pisos, el primer teléfono automático, la primera revista editada y dirigida por mujeres, el primer equipo de rayos X, el primer hipódromo y el primer acuapuerto internacional para el acuatizaje de hidroaviones.
Toda esa abundancia fue la que atrajo inmigrantes de diferentes culturas y nacionalidades.
A lo largo de la historia, San Pedro de Macorís ha ganado la denominación de diferentes nombres como son: La Ciudad de los Bellos Atardeceres, la Tacita de Oro, Mosquitisol, y desde luego, La Sultana del Este.
Fuentes: Historia Dominicana en Gráficas, Revistas UASD