Summer should be a time of blockbuster movies. Big action movies that capture all the money. That wasn’t the case in June 1992. Or the other summer months in 1992. June 1992 was a light month for movies. There were only five new movies released in the theater in June 1992. Five.
Kicking off the summer movie season with only five movies is sad. Of the movies released in June 1992 only one breaks into the top 10 of highest grossing movies for the year. And it’s the only movie form the summer months to make the list. 1992 was a bad summer for movies.
Two of the movies are sequels to blockbusters. Will they live up to the original or suffer from the sequel curse? Let’s take a look at the movies that were released in June 1992. They aren’t bad movies, just not summer blockbusters.
Movies from June 1992
Unlawful Entry
Let’s start with a sleeper hit starring Kurt Russell, Madeleine Stowe and Ray Liotta.
Michael (Russell) and Karen’s (Stowe) house is broken into one night and they call the police for help. Officer Pete (Liotta) arrives and takes a special interest in the case. Pete even installs a home security system in the house.
Turns out Pete is a bit unhinged and starts stalking Karen. He even enters their house at night while the couple is being intimate. Pete gets even crazier trying to frame Michael on drug charges by planting cocaine in the house.
Pete’s obsession with Karen spirals into attempted rape and murder. The movie ends with a resolving one problem but leaves a new issue unresolved for the viewer to decide the final outcome.
Kurt Russell is always great and Madeleine Stowe shines on screen. Although she’ll be in an even bigger movie in the Fall of 1992. Ray Liotta plays the deranged cop perfectly.
Unlawful Entry made over $57 million at the box office with a $23 million budget.
Patriot Games
Patriot Games is the sequel to 1990’s mega hit The Hunt for Red October. I love The Hunt for Red October. I saw it in the theater four times! I owned it on VHS, DVD and now 4K. The movie is a masterpiece.
I’m also a big Tom Clancy fan and by 1992 I read ever book he published, which was about five or six at the time. When Patriot Games came out I was ready to get back in the theater and see what Jack Ryan was up against.
For Patriot Games Harrison Ford took over as the lead character Jack Ryan. Replacing Alec Baldwin from the first movie. Replacing actors happens all the time. Alec Baldwin talked about it in the past and blames the studio.
This time around Jack Ryan is in London and witnesses and thwarts the attempted kidnapping of Lord Holmes, the Minster to Northern Ireland by a faction of the IRA. During the kidnapping attempt Ryan kills two terrorists and arrests another.
The terrorist left alive Sean Miller played by Sean Bean holds a personal grudge against Ryan. One of the terrorist Ryan killed was Miller’s younger brother. Miller is intent on escaping from prison and killing Ryan.
Miller does escape and travels to America to hunt down and kill Jack Ryan. Miller’s second goal is to kill Lord Holmes who is in America to present Jack Ryan an award for stopping the kidnapping.
Patriot Games is a great thriller. It’s not as good as The Hunt for Red October but it’s a good sequel. Tom Clancy books have spawned six movies and three TV series.
If you like Cold War thrillers you’ll like Patriot Games.
You can watch Patriot Games on Paramount+
Batman Returns
Batman ‘89 was a huge blockbuster. It was the first Batman movie in over 20 years and a took over the summer of 1989. Batman Returns is the follow-up to Batman and introduces two new (old) characters, The Penguin and Catwoman.
Michael Keaton returned as Batman with Danny DeVito playing The Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Tim Burton was reluctant to return as the director but Warner Bros. offered him more creative control and Burton agreed.
Batman Returns opens with the Cobblepots giving birth to a deformed baby. On Christmas Day they take baby Cobblepot out for a walk and throw him into the Gotham sewers.
Fast forward 30 years and business tycoon Max Shreck played by the always wonderful Christopher Walken, is proposing to build a new power plant in Gotham. Then Gotham is attacked by the Red Triangle Gang led by Oscar ‘Penguin’ Cobblepot. During the attack Shreck is taken by the Red Triangle Gang. The Penguin sets Shreck free but begins to and blackmail him to gain more power in Gotham.
Shreck’s secretary, Selina Kyle, discovers the truth about the power plant and Shreck pushes her out a window. Kyle survives the fall, is revived by a bunch of cats and becomes… Catwoman.
Bruce Wayne meets Kyle and the two are immediately attracted to each other. When Batman meets Catwoman however they are enemies. Meanwhile The Penguin kidnaps and kills Gotham’s Ice Princess and frames Batman for the murder.
Batman clears his name and reveals The Penguins true plan, to kill all the first born sons in Gotham as retribution for what his parents did to him. Can Batman stop The Penguin? Will Batman discover Catwoman’s identity? Tune in next week, Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel… oh wait
Batman Returns is a fantastic sequel to the original movie. There’s a lot going on in the movie; Penguin, Catwoman, Shreck. Batman has his hands full. Burton does a masterful job of weaving all the parts together into an enjoyable movie.
The Bruce/Batman and Selina/Catwoman relationship is a great part of the movie. And Danny DeVito’s Penguin, while not has charismatic as Jack Nicholson’s Joker is a darker, sadder villain.
Batman Returns was a huge hit. The Catwoman outfit might have helped… It earned over $266 million at the box office making it the sixth highest grossing movie of 1992. It’s also the only movie released in the summer of 1992 to make the list.
You can watch Batman Returns on HBO Max
Want even more Batman Returns? Check out the bonus episode of the Wizards podcast.
You can also watch Jason open a pack of Batman Returns trading cards on Wax Pack Flashback.
Other movies released in June 1992
Here are the other movies released in June 1992, both of them. I saw Kid ‘n Play’s first movie House Party but never saw Class Act.
Have you seen either of them? If I’m missing out on a good one let me know.
That’s it for June 1992. There wasn’t a lot to watch but the movies released were good. If you haven’t seen Unlawful Entry it’s worth watching.
Hopefully July 1992 is a better month for movies. I’m hoping there’s more than five movies released. We’ll find out next month.
What are your favorites from June 1992?
Let us know in the comments below. Or tag us on Twitter. The main channel is @TRNSocial and I’m @MileHighSamurai
Don’t forget to check out Box Office 30! They are currently covering 1992 and some of the movies mentioned above.
Next week we’ll look at June 1997.
Until then the balcony is closed.
Check out the previous installments of
1982 Friday Flix | 1987 Friday Flix | 1992 Friday Flix | 1997 Friday Flix
I actually enjoy both Class Act and Housesitter quite a bit. Class Act is cheesy and a little predictable, but Kid n Play are always entertaining and I like this one almost as much as House Party. Housesitter relies on the two stars, but both are very solid as usual and this one was entertaining to me as well.
Nice. I’ll have to check them out.