We’re continuing our journey through the business operations and filmography of Touchstone Pictures today. The Walt Disney Company was struggling to close out the 70s and into the early 80s. With the aim of releasing films for adult audiences, Disney would create the banner of Touchstone Pictures. I recently dove into the early years of the studio and their growth into a box-office staple in the prior two videos of this series. I’ll leave them linked here for you to check out if you missed them. But today we’re rolling right along into 1988 where Touchstone would release 10 movies and solidify their dominance at the box office.
Now, much like they did in ‘87 Touchstone would have a solid 1988. They kicked the year off with Good Morning Vietnam going wide and pulling a ton of cash from the hype it built during the 1987 award season. Touchstone Pictures would have some big splashy commercial hits in ‘88 as well as a few quiet successes. And their filmmaking formula that I covered in the prior videos was still proving to be a winning recipe for box-office gains.
For Touchstone’s first new release of 1988 we need to step back to April of 1985 where Columbia Pictures had been working on a wilderness set action thriller with the working title of In the Hall of the Mountain King. By March of 1986 development halted, and Columbia labeled the project as “inactive”. Fast forward a year, in March of 87, The Hollywood Reporter listed the film as having a new title, Mountain King. Touchstone liked this project, a deal was done, and the movie would go into production with principal photography beginning in April of 1987.
Shoot to Kill (2/12/88)
Shoot to Kill, known in many countries as Deadly Pursuit, would center on an FBI Agent who teams up with an experienced trapper to hunt a killer who has disappeared into the woods after jumping in with a group of hikers. This would be the first performance from Sidney Poitier in eleven years, and alongside him would be 80s and 90s staple Tom Berenger. With Kirstie Alley, Richard Masur, and Clancy Brown filling out the supporting cast.
This action thriller would hit theaters on February 12th to take the #2 spot behind Good Morning Vietnam which was still cruising along in the top spot on its 8th weekend. Shoot to Kill would earn mostly positive reviews with critics praising the performances and direction while those on the negative side dinged the film because of its formulaic plot. I however loved this movie. I grew up in the PNW and this felt like a movie in my backyard. I loved the action. I loved the suspense it delivered. And as I get older, I greatly appreciate the on-location shoots and the natural chemistry between Poitier and Berenger. Audiences enjoyed it as well and Shoot to Kill would spend 3 weeks in the #2 spot and pull a respectable $29.3M on a $15 budget. And I think this movie still holds up great all these years later with nonstop thrilling suspense and high energy action.
D.O.A. (3/18/88)
Just a month later Touchstone’s next movie would hit theaters in the mystery thriller D.O.A. A remake of the 1950 film that had been adapted a handful of other times over the years. This version starred Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, and Daniel Stern. And centers on a professor who is poisoned and has 36 hours to find out who did it. Something that doesn’t come easy with his failing health. So, this was certainly one of those few attempts Touchstone would make in the niche film genre.
D.O.A. would be released on March 18th and receive mixed-to-positive reviews. I’d never watched this one entirely until making this video and overall, it’s decent. I like some of the experimentation with film techniques and the manipulation of lighting. The color slowly washes from this movie as the story gets deeper into its plot and it’s ok. It feels a little gimmicky with everything else going on in this one. But overall, I enjoyed it even if I have no desire to watch it again. D.O.A. would land in the #3 spot with a $3.8M weekend, and during its 3-week run in theaters it’d pull in $12.7M on a $3.5M budget. So, while not blowing the doors off the bank, D.O.A. did finish in the green, which is a success for a niche film that was never going to have a ton of commercial appeal.
So only three months into 1988 and Touchstone was more than holding its own as a box-office heavyweight. When D.O.A. would be released on March 18th Touchstone would have 3 movies in the top 10 with Good Morning Vietnam, D.O.A. of course, and Three Men and a Baby still earning. It seemed even if Touchstone delivered a film critics were unfavorable of, the movie would still turn a profit.
Some of this could be chalked up to the common disconnect between film critics and general movie audiences. But more so, it was a result of the booming business of cinema. During the 80s multiplexes were popping up all over the country. With every shopping mall came a theater. With every new suburb further from the metropolitan hub a new movie theater would come as well. During this time going to the movies actually meant something. People would go to see whatever was out and the power of word-of-mouth would make or break a movie more than what critics ever had to say. This is how commercial films could last in theaters for months. Particularly during the summer season. And much like they did in 1987, Touchstone had planned a lot for the summer of ‘88 and their first of the season was a comedy they hoped would be a big commercial hit.
Big Business (6/10/88)
Bette Midler would knock another film off her Touchstone contract when she starred alongside Lily Tomlin in the high charisma comedy Big Business. A film about two sets of identical twins. One set from the country, and the other from the big city, who through a comedy of errors will all learn they have a much deeper connection.
Big Business would land in theaters on June 10th taking the #3 spot with a $6.1M weekend. It came out during some strong summer competition with movies such as Crocodile Dundee II, Big, and Rambo III. But it would hold its own. This was clearly an alternative viewing option for summer audiences not interested in big action or horror. I remember my aunt and grandma watching this and one and getting a kick out of it. I actually watched it for the first time, and I thought it was funny. It runs long, but the performances from Midler and Tomlin are highly amusing. However, the silly humor did start to feel a bit repetitive. There was enough audience appeal however to make this movie a success. Big Business would earn a strong $40.2M. The budget of $20M was a tad high for this comedy but necessary for the five months of post-production needed to create the visual effects. Sadly though $40M was probably not the $50M to $60M Touchstone was hoping to get from this movie given the past two summers of success Midler had brought them.
Regardless of whatever disappointment Touchstone may had been feeling about the lack of box office pop from Big Business would disappear only a few weeks later when Touchstone would partner with Amblin Entertainment to deliver a film that would capture the world’s imagination and rake in an avalanche of cash. Stepping back in time to 1981 Disney had purchased the film rights to a little book called “Who Censored Roger Rabbit?” by Gary Wolf. Disney had a couple of scripts written and would bring in Steven Spielberg and his Amblin Entertainment and the result would be an iconic film and the second highest grossing title of 1988.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (6/22/88)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit would hit the trifecta. It was a success with critics. Adored by audiences. And a winner during awards season. Set in an alternate Golden Era of Hollywood where humans and toons coexist, a hapless toon named Roger Rabbit is framed for a crime and it will be up to a grumpy old private detective played by Bob Hoskins to prove his innocence to the villainous Judge Doom played by Christopher Lloyd.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit would splash into theaters in June, right in the middle of the summer to wrangle audiences into the theater. I remember seeing this movie in the cinema a handful of times and it was the four-quadrant commercial hit the studio needed. It would open with $11.2M to take the #1 spot. It would be a top 3 movie for 7 weeks. A top 10 movie for a staggering 17 weeks and it was easy to see why. What this one delivered people had never seen before with such seamless blending between human actors and cartoon characters and audiences loved it. Roger Rabbit was a fixture of my childhood, and it still holds up impressively all these years later. The budget was reported to be $70M, the production companies insisted it was only $50M, regardless it’d pull in $351.5M worldwide and undoubtedly killed it on the home video market. The story is engaging, the humor lands, the nostalgia is cemented in place and it’s rightfully an iconic movie in cinema history.
Now behind the scenes at this time Disney was working on another source of funding. The money from the Silver Screen Partners III deal was beginning to run dry. So, in June of 1988 Disney would strike one final deal with SSP. Silver Screen Partners IV would be set in place and from an estimated 52,000 investors, the partnership would raise $400M for future films and Touchstone would use these funds, not exclusively, to finance movies for the next three years.
On the public side, with Roger Rabbit still earning at the box office Touchstone would drop their last splashy hit of the summer. They had acquired a script from Universal about a college student moonlighting as a bartender and the result, as “gloriously 80s” as it was, would end up being the eighth highest grossing film of the year.
Cocktail (7/29/88)
Tom Cruise would have a great 1988. He starred alongside Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. A deep emotionally layered drama that would go on to be the highest grossing movie of the year. Cruise would also tend bar in an emotionally transparent romantic drama called Cocktail alongside Bryan Brown.
Cocktail would hit theaters at the end of July and with its vanity, its style, and its sex appeal, it would open #1 with an $11.8M weekend and dominate the rest of the summer. Cocktail would spend 2 weeks in the top spot and another 12 weeks in the top 10. Critics disliked this vanity film that was fueled on all the superficiality the 80s had to offer. But audiences loved it. I caught pieces of this movie when I was a kid but really discovered it in the early 90s on cable as a teenager and since I had a huge crush on Shue, I was all on this flashy coming-of-age tale of romance, and self-discovery. And I still love this movie today. When I was a teen, I wanted to open my own bar. I tended bar in college because of this movie. I’ve drank my share of Red Eye’s during my time, and I still quote this movie whenever possible. With its budget of $20M it would go on to earn $171.5M and despite its flaws, you can’t deny its lovable charm.
So once again you could say Touchstone killed it during the summer of ‘88 with the success of Roger Rabbit and Cocktail. These two films equated to more than $520M of the summer box office and you could be certain execs with Touchstone were riding high. But as you know business in Hollywood is volatile and Touchstone would follow their summer success with three commercial failures in a row over the next few months.
The Rescue (8/5/88)
In August they’d release The Rescue. One of the many teen adventure movies from the 80s. Many of these movies have gone on to hold cult classic status but financially at the time they were a hit or miss and The Rescue would be one a miss. Movies like Red Dawn found a balance but the concept of the kids of Navy SEALS venturing into South Korea to rescue their fathers was too much of a stretch for most people. The film had a budget of $14.5M and would only earn back $5.8M of it. But as I said, silly movies like these have aged better over time through a nostalgic lens and despite its notable flaws there is a charm to be found in this fantasy level teen adventure.
Heartbreak Hotel (9/30/88)
Touchstone’s next movie in September would be their first financed under the new Silver Screen Partners IV deal and it would not kick the loan off on a good foot. Heartbreak Hotel written and directed by Chris Columbus would follow a group of teenage friends who want to set up a band at school, so they kidnap Elvis. This movie received mixed to negative reviews and audiences were not really interested either as it would earn back just $5.5M of its $13M budget. And you know, this movie never really grabbed me back in the day. I remember seeing it on cable, but it was not a film on my rotation growing up.
The Good Mother (11/4/88)
Then in November Touchstone’s would release their annual awards attempt with a niche drama starring Diane Keaton, and Liam Neeson called The Good Mother directed by Leonard Nimoy. I’d never heard of this movie, but the plot sounds weird involving the little daughter of a woman getting involved in a questionable situation with the mother’s boyfriend. It sounds like an attempt at conjuring moral and ethical drama, but it was clearly a swing-and-a-miss pulling in just $4.8M of its $14M budget. Word of mouth was presumably not good on this movie and with it being the third film in a row to lose money I’m sure Touchstone was beginning to worry. Just a little.
So, coming into the Christmas corridor Touchstone Pictures was stumbling from three consecutive theatrical failures. They needed a hero. Possibly a hero the studio had found success with the prior summer. Touchstone needed a hero that could save the day, and while he was at it maybe save Christmas as well. And that hero they would find.
Ernest Saves Christmas (11/11/88)
Ernest Saves Christmas would bring back the fun-loving Ernest who has traded his dreams of being a summer camp counselor to drive a taxi. One day Ernest is going about his day and finds one of his riders is the real Santa Claus. And the next thing Ernest will find himself on a mission to help Santa find his successor and to save Christmas.
Ernest Saves Christmas would open on November 11th and take the #2 spot behind Child’s Play with a $5.7M weekend. Timing was naturally great for this little comedic adventure. Holiday films tend to do well, and Ernest was a known fixture in pop culture at this time so Ernest Saves Christmas did great. I loved this movie as a kid. I watched every year growing up and even today watching Ernest, Santa, and their random crew of friends save the holiday is a charming throwback to that kid inside who sat in front of the TV with a PB&J watching this movie and thinking about what I had under the tree. Ernest Saves Christmas would spend 6 weeks in the top 10 and earn a respectable $28.2M on just a $6.5M budget and while it didn’t blow the doors off the bank, I’m sure Touchstone was happy to finally see a movie back in the green.
Beaches (12/21/88)
Touchstone had one last movie to deliver in 1988 and it would come on Christmas with the musical dramedy Beaches starring Better Midler and Barbara Hershey by director Garry Marshall. This movie would be a hit among the older crowd at the time. The market for poignant dramas with undercurrents of reflective humor were popular, and Beaches checked all the sentimental boxes.
Beaches would drop into theaters on Dec 21st, and it was positively received. Critics were lukewarm on it. Audiences on the other hand loved the sentimentality of the friendships explored in this movie. Midler’s version of “Wind Beneath My Wings” became a #1 song and was probably more popular than this movie was at the time. I had never seen it. My family did have the other aunts and uncles over to watch it one evening. It was rare when the family did that so when it happened, it had to be a popular film among the olds at the time. I watched it for this video and it’s fine. It’s not really my cup of tea but it is well written, acted, and directed. It would pull in $57M on a $20M budget. The soundtrack to this movie probably made a killing and like Titanic in the 90s it seems every house had a copy of Beaches on VHS stuffed in their oversized entertainment center.
So, to close out 1988 Disney Pictures, with the assistance of the Touchstone banner had officially beaten out the other studios to sit at the top of the box office receipts. With Roger Rabbit, Good Morning Vietnam, Three Men and a Baby, and Cocktail, Disney had 4 films in the top 10 at the domestic box office in 1988. At this time there were several movie production studios moving away from feature films or closing their doors. So, Disney would use the opportunity to create another production label to fill the void. Eisner’s initial pitch of Hollywood Pictures had been incorporated years earlier and in December it would be announced for a launch of Feb 1989. With Touchstone Pictures officially up and running and essentially a twin version of it in Hollywood Pictures getting up and running, Disney at this time was only growing their domination of the film market. And in the next video we’ll be diving into their run of films during 1989 where they would release another eight movies.
Anthony J. Digioia II © 2025 SilverScreen Analysis & Movies Never Say Die
