Cineliteracy: What you Need to Know about 1998 as Movie Year
My Pioneering Oscar Book:
Top-Grossing Films of 1998
Rank Title Distributor Worldwide gross
1 Armageddon Buena Vista $553,709,788
2 Saving Private Ryan DreamWorks / Paramount $485,000,000
3 Godzilla Sony Pictures / TriStar $379,014,294
4 There’s Something About Mary 20th Century Fox $369,884,651
5 A Bug’s Life Buena Vista $363,398,565
6 Deep Impact Paramount / DreamWorks $349,464,664
7 Mulan Buena Vista $304,320,254
8 Dr. Dolittle 20th Century Fox $294,456,605
9 Shakespeare in Love Miramax / Universal $290.317,794
10 Lethal Weapon 4 Warner Bros. $285,444,603
Box Office Records
Saving Private Ryan grossed $485 million worldwide, the highest-grossing World War II film until it was surpassed by Dunkirk (2017). However, when adjusted for inflation, Saving Private Ryan grossed abut $826 million worldwide.
Blade, the top-grossing film based on Marvel Comics character, grossed $131.2 million worldwide.
The Star Trek franchise became 7th film franchise to gross $1 billion with release of Star Trek: Insurrection.
Events
March 1 –
Titanic, the first film to gross over $1 billion at worldwide box office, and 20 days later, the film won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director.
May 8 and July 1 – 1998:
Release of 2 sci-fi disaster films about asteroids: Armageddon and Deep Impact, both box office successes. Armageddon, the more popular of the two, was 1998’s highest-grossing film worldwide.
July 24 – Saving Private Ryan, by Spielberg, was released and received critical acclaim, leading it to be the top-grossing domestic film of 1998. Saving Private Ryan won 5 Oscars, including Best Director. The film was landmark in the war genre, due to use of desaturated colors, hand-held cameras, tight angles.
August 21 –
Blade, based on the character of same name, grossed $131.2 million worldwide; Its success would help stage future adaptations of Marvel Comics.
September 19 –
Antz, DreamWorks’ first animated feature, premiered at Toronto Film Fest.
December 25 –
Terrence Malick returned after a 20-year hiatus, with The Thin Red Line.
Awards
4th Critics Choice Awards, January 1999
Producers, Directors, Screen Actors, and Writers Guild Awards
Oscars: 71st Academy Awards, March 21, 1999
Best Film: Shakespeare in Love
Best Director: Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan
Best Actor: Roberto Benigni, Life Is Beautiful
Best Actress: Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love
Best Supporting Actor: James Coburn, Affliction
Best Supporting Actress: Judi Dench, Shakespeare in Love
Best Screenplay, Adapted
Best Screenplay, Original Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard, Shakespeare in Love
Best Animated Film:
Best Original Score:
Best Original Song
Best Foreign Language Film: Life Is Beautiful
Deaths
Month Date Name Age Country Profession Notable films
Jan 5
Sonny Bono 62 US Singer, Actor, Good Times, Hairspray
6 Walt Barnes 79 US Actor
The Big GundownEscape to Witch Mountain
6 Murray Salem 47 US Actor, Screenwriter
Kindergarten CopThe Spy Who Loved Me
7 Jacqueline DeWit 85 US Actress
All That Heaven Allows, Little Giant
7 Dorothy Wilson 88 US Actress
One in a MillionScarlet River
16 Lorenzo Mongiardino 81 Italy Production Designer
Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shre
February
Feb 3 Davy Kaye 81 UK Actor
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
5 Douglas Gamley 73 Australia Composer, Conductor
TronEnigma
15 George White 86 US Film Editor
Green Dolphin StreetThe Postman Always Rings Twice
17 Felix Nelson 84 US Actor
The Learning TreeThe Ballad of Cable Hogue [3]
17 Sheila Raynor 91 UK Actor
A Clockwork OrangeThe Omen
18 James Villiers 67 UK Actor
For Your Eyes OnlyRepulsion
21 John Nicolella 52 US Director, Producer
Kull the ConquerorEasy Money
23 Chuck Hayward 89 US Actor, Stuntman
The Blues BrothersThe Longest Yard
24 Henny Youngman 91 UK Comedian, Actor
History of the World, Part IGoodfellas
26 James Algar 75 US Director, Producer, Animator
FantasiaThe African Lion
27 J. T. Walsh 54 US Actor
Good Morning, VietnamA Few Good Men
March
March 5 Donald Woods 91 Canada Actor
Anthony Adverse, The Case of the Stuttering Bishop
10 Lloyd Bridges 85 US Actor
High NoonAirplane!
17 Helen Westcott 70 US Actress, The GunfighterGod’s Little Acre
20 Beverley Cross 66 UK Screenwriter
Clash of the TitansJason and the Argonauts
25 Daniel Massey 64 UK Actor
Star! In Which We Serve
30 Ramsay Ames 79 US Actress
The Mummy’s GhostThe Gay Cavalier
April
April 1
Gene Evans 75 US Actor
The Steel HelmetShock Corridor
1 Lucille Norman 76 US Singer, Actress
Carson CityPainting the Clouds with Sunshine
3 Charles Lang 96 US Cinematographer
Some Like It HotThe Magnificent Seven
4 Kay Hughes 84 US Actress
The Big ShowDick Tracy
11 Rodney Harvey 30 US Actor
My Own Private IdahoGuncrazy
21 Peter Lind Hayes 82 US Actor
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.The Senator Was Indiscreet
22 Marvin Worth 72 US Producer
Malcolm XThe Rose
24 Leslie Stevens 74 US Screenwriter, Director
The Marriage-Go-RoundIncubus
28 Jerome Bixby 75 US Screenwriter
It! The Terror from Beyond SpaceFantastic Voyage
28 Dorothy Lovett 83 US Actress
Meet Dr. ChristianThe Mantrap
29 Mary Castle 67 US Actress
GunsmokeThe Jailbreakers
May
May 2 Maidie Norman 85 US Actress
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?Halloween III: Season of the Witch
3 Gene Raymond 89 US Actor
Flying Down to RioMr. & Mrs. Smith
9 Alice Faye 83 US Actress, Singer
In Old ChicagoAlexander’s Ragtime Band
9 Nat Perrin 93 US Screenwriter, Director
The Great MorganHellzapoppin’
11 Gene Fowler Jr. 80 US Film Editor
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldHang ‘Em High
14 Frank Sinatra 82 US Singer, Actor
From Here to EternityThe Manchurian Candidate
15 Linwood G. Dunn 93 US Visual Effects Artist
West Side Story2001: A Space Odyssey
20 Wolf Mankowitz 73 UK Screenwriter
Casino RoyaleA Kid for Two Farthings
21 Douglas Fowley 86 US Actor
Singin’ in the RainMighty Joe Young
22 John Derek 71 US Actor, Director
Knock on Any DoorSaturday’s Hero
28 Phil Hartman 49 US Actor, Comedian, Screenwriter
Pee-wee’s Big AdventureJingle All the Way
June
June 1 Darwin Joston 60 US Actor
Assault on Precinct 13Eraserhead
2 Dorothy Stickney 101 US Actress
The Catered AffairI Never Sang for My Father
4 Josephine Hutchinson 94 US Actress
North by NorthwestThe Story of Louis Pasteur
5 Jeanette Nolan 85 US Actress
The Man Who Shot Liberty ValanceThe Big Heat
12 Theresa Merritt 73 US Actress
Billy MadisonThe Wiz
18 Charles Korvin 90 Slovakia Actor
Berlin ExpressShip of Fools
23 Kurt Kren 69 Austria Director
8/64: Ana – Aktion Brus10/65: Selbstverstümmelung
23 Maureen O’Sullivan 87 Ireland Actress
Tarzan the Ape ManThe Thin Man
24 Henry G. Saperstein 80 US Producer
What’s Up, Tiger Lily?Mr. Magoo
July
July 1 Claire Kelly 64 US Actress
The BadlandersParty Girl
4 Gregg Burge 40 US Actor
A Chorus LineSchool Daze
6 Roy Rogers 86 US Actor, Singer
Son of PalefaceKing of the Cowboys
10 William Preston 76 US Actor
The Fisher KingWaterworld
16 Leigh Brown 59 US Screenwriter
A Christmas StoryIt Runs in the Family
17 Joseph Maher 64 Ireland Actor
Mars Attacks!In & Out
19 Betty Marsden 79 UK Actress
Night and the CityThe Dresser
21 Robert Young 91 US Actor
CrossfireThat Forsyte Woman
27 Binnie Barnes 95 UK Actress
The Private Life of Henry VIIIThe Spanish Main
28 Lenny McLean 49 UK Actor
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking BarrelsThe Fifth Element
29 Jerome Robbins 79 US Director, Choreographer West Side Story
29 O. Z. Whitehead 87 US Actor
The Lion in WinterThe Grapes of Wrath
August
Aug 1 Eva Bartok 71 Hungary Actress
The Crimson PirateTen Thousand Bedrooms
7 Bob Wyman 66 US Film Editor
Greased LightningLogan’s Run
11 Derek Newark 65 UK Actor
City Under the SeaDad’s Army
15 Marc Akerstream 44 Canada Stuntman, Actor
Needful ThingsRumble in the Bronx
16 Phil Leeds 82 US Actor
GhostRosemary’s Baby
18 Persis Khambatta 49 India Actress
Star Trek: The Motion PictureNighthawks
24 E. G. Marshall 84 US Actor, 12 Angry Men, The Caine Mutiny
24 Gene Page 58 US Composer
BlaculaBrewster McCloud
26 Wade Dominguez 32 US Actor
Dangerous MindsCity of Industry
26 Penny Edwards 70 US Actress
Street BanditsMissing Women
September
Sep 2 Fernando Carrere 87 Mexico Art Director
The Great EscapeThe Pink Panther
6 Akira Kurosawa 88 Japan Director, Screenwriter
Seven SamuraiRashomon
6 Elaine Shepard 85 US Actress
Seven Days AshoreYou Can’t Fool Your Wife
8 Leonid Kinskey 95 Russia Actor
CasablancaDuck Soup
11 Dane Clark 86 US Actor
WhiplashDestination Tokyo
19 Patricia Hayes 88 UK Actress
A Fish Called WandaWillow
21 Clara Calamai 89 Italy Actress
Deep RedOssessione
22 John Garrie 75 UK Actor
if….The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
30 Marius Goring 86 UK Actor
Ill Met by MoonlightThe Moonraker
30 Stephen Pearlman 63 US Actor
PiDie Hard with a Vengeance
October
Oct 2 Gene Autry 91 US Actor, Singer, The Singing Cowboy, Phantom Empire
Oct 3 George Davis 84 US Art Director
The RobeAll About Eve
Oct 3
Roddy McDowall 70 UK Actor, Planet of the Apes, The Poseidon Adventure
8 Gigi Reder 70 Italy Actor
FantozziWho Is Afraid Of Dracula?
11 Richard Denning 84 US Actor
An Affair to RememberCreature from the Black Lagoon
17 Joan Hickson 92 UK Actress
ClockwiseTheatre of Blood
22 Eric Ambler 89 UK Screenwriter
A Night to RememberTopkapi
23 Christopher Gable 58 UK Actor
The Boy FriendThe Lair of the White Worm
24 Dennis Ayling 81 UK Visual Effects Artist Alien
26 Rick Dior 51 US Sound Engineer
Apollo 13Juice
27 Rosamund John 85 UK Actress
When the Bough BreaksGreen for Danger
28 James Goldman 71 US Screenwriter
The Lion in WinterThey Might Be Giants
November
Nov 8 Jean Marais 84 France Actor, Director, Julietta, White Nights
13 Valerie Hobson 81 UK Actress
Kind Hearts and CoronetsGreat Expectations
17 Dick O’Neill 70 US Actor
The Taking of Pelham One Two ThreeThe Jerk
17 Esther Rolle 78 US Actress
Driving Miss DaisyRosewood
19 Alan J. Pakula 70 US Director, Producer, Screenwriter
All the President’s MenTo Kill a Mockingbird
22 Nicky Blair 72 US Actor
The Godfather Part IIIRocky V
25 Enrico Sabbatini 66 Italy Costume Designer
Seven Years in TibetThe Mission
25 Flip Wilson 64 US Comedian, Actor
Skatetown, USAThe Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
30 Ruth Clifford 98 US Actress
The Dramatic Life of Abraham LincolnThe Amazing Woman
December
Dec 1 Freddie Young 96 UK Cinematographer, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago
7 John Addison 78 UK Composer
A Bridge Too FarTom Jones
8 John Veitch 78 US Producer, Executive
Bram Stoker’s DraculaFly Away Home
13 Lew Grade 91 UK Producer
The Dark CrystalSophie’s Choice
13 Ariadna Welter 68 Mexico Actress
The Devil’s HandThe Boxer
14 Norman Fell 74 US Actor
BullittIt’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
17 John Robert Lloyd 78 US Production Designer
Midnight Cowboy, Clue
20 Irene Hervey 89 US Actress
Play Misty for Me, Cactus Flower
25 Richard Paul 58 US Actor
The People vs. Larry Flynt, Eating Raoul
26 Hurd Hatfield 81 US Actor, Picture of Dorian Gray, The Boston Strangler
29
Don Taylor 81 US Actor, Stalag 17, Father of the Bride
Film Debuts
Kristen Bell – Polish Wedding
Wes Bentley – Three Below Zero
Kate Bosworth – The Horse Whisperer
Billy Boyd – Urban Ghost Story
A. J. Buckley – Disturbing Behavior
Taye Diggs – How Stella Got Her Groove Back
Snoop Dogg – Half Baked
Cedric the Entertainer – Ride
Golshifteh Farahani – The Pear Tree
Vera Farmiga – Return to Paradise
Josh Hartnett – Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Taraji P. Henson – Streetwise
Kate Hudson – Desert Blue
Oscar Isaac – Illtown
Rashida Jones – Myth America
Vinnie Jones – Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Shia LaBeouf – The Christmas Path
Mía Maestro – Tango
Eva Mendes – A Night at the Roxbury
Chris Messina – Rounders
Cillian Murphy – The Tale of Sweety Barrett
Julianne Nicholson – Harvest
Christopher Nolan (director) – Following
Jesse Plemons – Finding North
Amy Poehler – Tomorrow Night
Rebecca Romijn – Dirty Work
Jason Schwartzman – Rushmore
Jason Segel – Can’t Hardly Wait
Dax Shepard – Hairshirt
Jason Statham – Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Ray Stevenson – The Theory of Flight
Michael Stuhlbarg – A Price Above Rubies
Wanda Sykes – Tomorrow Night
Luis Tosar – Atilano for President
Carice van Houten – Ivory Guardians
Denis Villeneuve (director) – August 32nd on Earth
Matt Walsh – Tomorrow Night
Mark Webber – Edge City
