187

187

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  [Total: 7 Average: 3.4]
  Genre(s): Drama

• • Directed By: Kevin Reynolds
  • Written By: Scott Yagemann
  • Release Date: July 30, 1997
  • Domestic Distributor: Warner Bros
  • Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, John Heard, Kelly Rowan
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Box Office Info:

Budget: $23 million	Financed by: Icon; Warner Bros
Domestic Gross: $5,727,130	Overseas Gross: N/A

After spending a few years as a substitute teacher Scott Yagemann pitched 187 to Icon Productions in 1994 and sold the screenplay the following year.  Kevin Reynolds was tapped to direct after he just left the out of control mega-sized production of Waterworld (1995), which he was removed from after clashes with Kevin Costner.  Reynolds had said the budget for 187 was just slightly under $23 million.  The picture was financed by Icon and Warner Bros.   WB handled the domestic release and Icon sold off international distribution.

187 was dated for July 30, 1997 and what little media attention the movie had, was mostly negative, with complaints directed at the screenplay’s tone deaf racial stereotyping of African American and Latino students and the over the top portrayal of school gang violence.  The filmmakers were also selling this nonsense to the public as an important message movie that will change the system.  Despite their grandiose delusions about the importance of 187, it was just another school gang movie, which had recently run its course with Dangerous Minds (1995), The Substitute (1996) and the spoof High School High (1996).

WB positioned 187 on a Wednesday and it bowed against other studio junk Spawn, Picture Perfect and Air Bud.  Reviews were poor, buzz was nowhere to be found and 187 was dead on arrival with $2,222,984 — placing #12 for the weekend led by the holdover Air Force One.  Auds gave the movie a poor C+ Cinemascore and it plummeted 62.7% to $829,515 in its second frame and then promptly lost most of its theater count.  The domestic run closed with a dreadful $5,727,130.

Overseas numbers are not available.  Pointless Trivia: VFX artists on Captain Marvel (2019) mostly used images from 187 as a reference to de-age Samuel L. Jackson.