The X-Files

A building explodes in Texas and the careers of Mulder and Scully become attached to it. This is not a standalone story; it is an interquel sitting between the fifth and sixth seasons. The production was built on secrecy. Scripts were printed on red paper so they could not be photocopied, and the project ran under the codename Blackwood. The fire trucks in the Texas opening read Blackwood County, though Frank Spotnitz said the name had no particular significance. The schedule was punishing. It was shot in the gap between seasons four and five, with reshoots while season five was in production. The series paid for it: several fifth-season episodes feature only one of the two leads. Chris Carter wrote the screenplay with Frank Spotnitz, much of it over Christmas 1996 in Hawaii, with Carter producing roughly half the 124-page script in ten days. Rob Bowman directed because Carter had no time to direct while running the television series. On a 60 million dollar budget it grossed 189.2 million worldwide. It opened above 30 million across 2,629 theatres, took the top spot and beat Disney's Mulan. Who it is for: people who watched the series. Who it is not for: newcomers. The film starts in the middle of the conspiracy arc and explains nothing.