Ransom Just Turned 30 — and in the Cut Nobody Can Stream, the FBI Catches Mel Gibson’s Hero Lying, and His Balcony Confession Means Something Very Different

The 1990s saw Ron Howard blend grounded human stories into high-stakes blockbuster mold, giving us notable box-office hits from Backdraft to Apollo 13 and, of course, Ransom (74% on Rotten Tomatoes ). The latter was a huge box-office hit back in 1996 — it turned 30 on November 8 — grossing over $309 million worldwide on a $70 million budget, making it Howard’s second-biggest moneymaker of the ‘90s after Apollo 13. How a Delayed Release Turned Ransom Into a $309 Million Hit Ransom‘s success lies in Touchstone Pictures’ intriguing marketing push, which highlights not only the kidnapping plot in the trailer but also how Tom Mullen (Mel Gibson) boldly goes on live television to try to turn the tables on the kidnappers by offering a bounty instead.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.