Why did the movie flop?
Everyone knows it was a box office bomb (now reinvented as a disappointment) ...
Was it the script? The competition?
I never even considered seeing it in theaters, I just saw it for the first time streaming. I really enjoyed it today as a soft old fart, but I'm sure if I saw it in 1990 I would have hated it.
Fun exercise that beats working: Box office top 10 from summer 1990:
1. Ghost - $218 mil - Saw it in a theater, don't remember shit about it; if I liked it I'd remember
2. Total Recall - $119 mil - Saw in a theater, instant classic, still love it, my pick for best movie of summer 1990
3. Die Hard 2 - $117 mil - Skipped it in theaters, finally saw it for the first time a few years ago, I remember nothing
4. Dick Tracy - $104 mil - Saw it in a theater, mostly because I loved the Dick Tracy cartoons on TV as a kid; I vaguely remember not hating it
5. Back to the Future Pt III - $88 mil - Skipped it, saw it for the first time a couple years ago, bored me to tears, validated my lack of interest; I loved the first one, both sequels can miss me
6. Arachnophobia - $53 mil - Skipped it, was only vaguely aware it existed; streamed it a couple years ago, immediately purged it from my memory
7. Problem Child - $53 mil - Skipped it, never seen it
8. Robocop 2 - $45 mil - Saw it in a theater, I actually remember a couple things about it, but I didn't like it much
9. Gremlins 2 - $41 mil - Already covered
10. Ducktales - $18 mil - A Ducktales movie exists? Who cares?