Happy Throwback Thursday! Today our throwback year is 1987. One of the biggest movies that year was Dirty Dancing! The movie is largely based on screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein’s own childhood. It had a relatively low budget of $5 million when the average budget for movies at the time was $12 million. While the film is set in the Catskills, it was actually filmed at 2 different locations – Lake Lure in North Carolina and the Mountain Lake Hotel near Pembroke, Virginia.
Winona Ryder, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sharon Stone, Billy Zane, Val Kilmer, and Benicio del Toro were all considered for the lead roles, which eventually went to Jennifer Gray and Patrick Swayze. The low-budget film was a surprise hit, becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of 1987, earning $170 million worldwide. It was also the first film to sell a million copies on video. Even 10 years after the movie’s release, videos were selling 40,000 per month.
The popularity of the movie launched a franchise, including a television series, reality competition shows, a stage production, a prequel, and a made-for-TV musical adaptation in 2017. An untitled sequel with Grey reprising her role is scheduled for release sometime in 2025.
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