Image Credit: Everett Collection Girlfight
Karyn Kusama’s bold directorial debut caused a sensation in Park City, quickly becoming the It movie of the 2000 fest. A four-day bidding war ended with Screen Gems scooping up the film for around $3 million. And at the end of the fest, the film, starring future Lost-girl Michelle Rodriguez as a teenage boxer, won the Grand Jury prize, while Kusama went home with a directing award. Though it made a name for both Rodriguez and Kusama, Girlfight ended up packing a relatively weak punch at the box office: $1.6 million. —MS
Image Credit: Everett Collection Happy Texas
For years, this comedy about two heterosexual escaped cons (Steve Zahn and Jeremy Northam) who pretend to be gay beauty-pageant judges was the gold standard in what were they thinking?! Sundance deals. The goofy crowd-pleaser generated boatloads of buzz and earned Zahn a special jury prize. So surely Harvey Weinstein made a brilliant move in forking over $10 million, right? Ha! It barely eked out $2 million at the box office. —MS
Image Credit: Everett Collection Slam
This gritty drama about a Washington, D.C., slam-poet (Saul Williams) who ends up in prison on a drug charge won the Grand Jury prize and loads of acclaim for director Marc Levin. Trimark Pictures snatched up the movie for $2.5 million, and the press seemed convinced that Levin was the Next Big Thing in filmmaking. When the film grossed $982,214, they changed their minds. —MS
