The August Movie: A History
August is a famous dumping ground for crappy August Movies, as we’ve explored. How will this August shape up? Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express look kind of good; Swing Vote, The Mummy, Fly Me to the Moon, The Perfect Game, Mirrors, Death Race, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars look kind of bad. We once hoped that The House Bunny and Vicky Christina Barcelona might be good, but then they got scheduled for August, which made us think they would be bad.
Whatever happens, August 2008 will have a hard time competing against some previous Augusts. For our money, the worst August ever was August 1997, when the only halfway-decent movie released was G.I. Jane. G.I. Jane! On the other hand, in August 1998 every movie was lousy. The complete fifteen-year breakdown is after the jump.
| August 1993 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (2) | Lousy movies (9) |
| The Fugitive, The Secret Garden | Meteor Man, My Boyfriend's Back, Jason Goes to Hell, Heart and Souls, Hard Target, Surf Ninjas, Needful Things, The Man Without a Face, Son of the Pink Panther |
| August 1994 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (2) | Lousy movies (8) |
| Clear and Present Danger, Natural Born Killers | Little Rascals, Airheads, In the Army Now, Color of Night, Andre, Blankman, Camp Nowhere, Wagons East! |
| August 1995 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (1) | Lousy movies (11) |
| Babe | Something to Talk About, Virtuosity, Bushwhacked, Dangerous Minds, A Walk in the Clouds, A Kid in King Arthur's Court, Mortal Kombat, The Babysitters' Club, Desperado, Lord of Illusions, The Amazing Panda Adventure |
| August 1996 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (2) | Lousy movies (14) |
| Matilda, Tin Cup | Chain Reaction, Jack, Escape From L.A., The Fan, Alaska, Bordello of Blood, House Arrest, The Island of Dr. Moreau, A Very Brady Sequel, Solo, Carpool, The Crow: City of Angels, First Kid, The Stupids |
| August 1997 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (1) | Lousy movies (15) |
| G.I. Jane | Spawn, Picture Perfect, Air Bud, 187, Conspiracy Theory, Free Willy 3, Cop Land, Event Horizon, Steel, Money Talks, Mimic, Leave It to Beaver, Hoodlum, Excess Baggage, Krull the Conqueror |
| August 1998 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (0) | Lousy movies (11) |
| Bad year. | Snake Eyes, Halloween: H20, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Avengers, Air Bud: Golden Receiver, Blade, Dead Man on Campus, Dance With Me, Wrongfully Accused, 54, Why Do Fools Fall in Love |
| August 1999 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (5) | Lousy movies (11) |
| The Sixth Sense, The Thomas Crown Affair, The Iron Giant, Dick, Bowfinger | Brokedown Palace, Mystery Men, Detroit Rock City, Mickey Blue Eyes, Universal Soldier: The Return, Teaching Mrs. Tingle, The 13th Warrior, In Too Deep, The Astronaut's Wife, The Muse, Dudley Do-Right |
| August 2000 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (1) | Lousy movies (11) |
| Bring It On | Hollow Man, Space Cow, Coyote Ugly, The Replacements, Autumn in New York, Bless the Child, The Cell, The Original Kings of Comedy, Godzilla 2000, The Art of War, The Crew |
| August 2001 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (1) | Lousy movies (15) |
| The Others | Rush Hour 2, The Princess Diaries, Original Sin, American Pie 2, Osmosis Jones, Rat Race, Captain Correlli's Mandolin, American Outlaws, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Summer Catch, John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Bubble Boy, Jeepers Creepers, O |
| August 2002 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (2) | Lousy movies (10) |
| Signs, Blue Crush | Master of Disguise, Martin Lawrence: Runteldat, XXX, Spy Kids 2, Blood Work, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Serving Sara, Undisputed, Simone, Fear Dot Com |
| August 2003 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (1) | Lousy movies (11) |
| Freaky Friday | American Wedding, Gigli, S.W.A.T., Freddy vs. Jason, Uptown Girls, Open Range, Grind, The Medallion, My Boss's Daughter, Marci X, Jeepers Creepers 2 |
| August 2004 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (2) | Lousy movies (7) |
| Collateral, Hero | Little Black Book, Alien vs. Predator, The Princess Diaries 2, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Exorcist: The Beginning, Without a Paddle, Anacondas |
| August 2005 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (2) | Lousy movies (7) |
| The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Red Eye | The Dukes of Hazzard, Four Brothers, Skeleton Key, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Valiant, The Brothers Grimm, The Cave |
| August 2006 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (2) | Lousy movies (10) |
| Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, The Descent | Barnyard, Step Up, Pulse, Zoom, Accepted, Material Girls, Snakes on a Plane, Invincible, Beerfest, Idlewild |
| August 2007 | |
|---|---|
| Halfway-decent movies (2) | Lousy movies (9) |
| The Bourne Ultimatum, Superbad | Underdog, Hot Rod, Rush Hour 3, Stardust, The Invasion, War, Mr. Bean's Holiday, The Nanny Diaries, Halloween |
Related: The August Movie: A Theory of Awfulness
