Editing Bruce Willis (section)

=== 1990s: ''Die Hard'' sequels, ''Pulp Fiction'' and dramatic roles ===

Having acquired major personal success and pop culture influence playing John McClane in ''Die Hard'', Willis reprised his role in the sequels ''[[Die Hard 2]]'' (1990) and ''[[Die Hard with a Vengeance]]'' (1995).<ref name=tca/> These first three installments in the ''[[Die Hard (franchise)|Die Hard]]'' series grossed over US$700&nbsp;million internationally<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Bea |date=2022-10-11 |title=How Bruce Willis Went From Making $14 Million To $100 Million For The Sixth Sense |url=https://www.thethings.com/bruce-willis-sixth-sense-record-breaking-salary/ |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=TheThings |language=en}}</ref> and propelled Willis to the first rank of Hollywood action stars.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} At one point, ''Die Hard 2'' and ''[[Ghost (1990 film)|Ghost]]'', starring Willis's then wife [[Demi Moore]], would occupy the number one and number two spots at the box office, a feat that would not be accomplished again for a married Hollywood couple until 2024.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://people.com/ryan-reynolds-blake-lively-are-latest-married-couple-to-top-box-office-since-bruce-willis-demi-moore-1990-8693706|title=Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively Are First Married Couple to Top Box Office Since Bruce Willis and Demi Moore in 1990|first=Marina|last=Watts|publisher=People|date=August 11, 2024|accessdate=August 12, 2024|archive-date=August 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811223103/https://people.com/ryan-reynolds-blake-lively-are-latest-married-couple-to-top-box-office-since-bruce-willis-demi-moore-1990-8693706|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2024/08/12/blake-lively-ryan-reynolds-it-ends-with-us-deadpool-and-wolverine-box-office/74765651007/|title=Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds mark first married couple to top box office in 34 years|first=Kelly|last=Lawler|publisher=USA Today|date=August 12, 2024|accessdate=August 12, 2024|archive-date=August 28, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240828010408/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2024/08/12/blake-lively-ryan-reynolds-it-ends-with-us-deadpool-and-wolverine-box-office/74765651007/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the early 1990s, Willis's career suffered a moderate slump, as he starred in [[Box office bomb|flops]] such as ''[[The Bonfire of the Vanities (film)|The Bonfire of the Vanities]]'' (1990) and ''[[Hudson Hawk]]'' (1991), although he did find box office success with ''[[The Last Boy Scout]]'' (1991). He gained more success with ''[[Striking Distance]]'' (1993) but flopped again with ''[[Color of Night]]'' (1994): it was savaged by critics but did well in the [[home video]] market and became one of the Top 20 most-rented films in the United States in 1995.<ref>''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' vol 108 No. 1 (1/6/1996) p.54.</ref> [[Maxim (magazine)|''Maxim'']] also ranked his sex scene in the film as the best in film history.<ref name="Top Sex Scenes of All-Time">{{cite web|url=http://telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com/reframe.html?http://telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com/dailynews/pop/12_00/12_06a.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120628224513/http://telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com/reframe.html?http://telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com/dailynews/pop/12_00/12_06a.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 28, 2012|title=Top Sex Scenes of All-Time|date=December 6, 2000|access-date=July 9, 2009|publisher=[[Extra (American TV program)]]}}</ref>

In 1994, Willis also had a leading role in one part of [[Quentin Tarantino]]'s acclaimed ''[[Pulp Fiction (film)|Pulp Fiction]];''<ref name=tca/> the film's success gave a boost to his career, and he starred alongside his ''Look Who's Talking'' co-star [[John Travolta]].<ref>{{Cite web |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |date=May 14, 2021 |title=Bruce Willis & John Travolta To Reteam For First Time Since 'Pulp Fiction' In 'Paradise City'; Praya Lundberg Also Stars |url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/bruce-willis-john-travolta-paradise-city-pulp-fiction-reteam-praya-lundberg-1234756739/ |access-date=September 4, 2022 |website=Deadline |archive-date=June 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611151246/https://deadline.com/2021/05/bruce-willis-john-travolta-paradise-city-pulp-fiction-reteam-praya-lundberg-1234756739/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1996, he was the executive producer and star of the cartoon ''[[Bruno the Kid]]'' which featured a [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] representation of himself. That same year, he starred in [[Mike Judge]]'s animated film ''[[Beavis and Butt-head Do America]]'' with his then-wife [[Demi Moore]]. In the movie, he plays a drunken criminal named "Muddy Grimes", who mistakenly sends Judge's titular characters to kill his wife, Dallas (voiced by Moore). He then played the lead roles in ''[[12 Monkeys]]'' (1995) and ''[[The Fifth Element]]'' (1997). However, by the end of the 1990s his career had fallen into another slump with critically panned films like ''[[The Jackal (1997 film)|The Jackal]]'' (which despite negative reviews was a box office hit), ''[[Mercury Rising]]'', and ''[[Breakfast of Champions (film)|Breakfast of Champions]]'', as well as the implosion of the production of ''[[Broadway Brawler]]'', a debacle salvaged only by the success of the [[Michael Bay]]-directed ''[[Armageddon (1998 film)|Armageddon]]'', which Willis had agreed to star in as compensation for the failed production, and which turned out to be the highest-grossing film of 1998 worldwide.<ref name="fight">{{cite news
 | last =Brennan
 | first =Judy
 | title =The Fight Over 'Broadway Brawler'
 | newspaper =[[Los Angeles Times]]
 | location =
 | pages =
 | language =English
 | publisher =
 | date =March 13, 1997
 | url =https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-13-ca-37642-story.html?_amp=true
 | accessdate =September 27, 2021
 | archive-date =September 27, 2021
 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20210927232308/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-13-ca-37642-story.html?_amp=true
 | url-status =live
 }}</ref><ref name="BOM2">{{cite web|title=1998 Worldwide Grosses|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=1998&p=.htm|access-date=May 9, 2009|archive-date=May 22, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522071704/http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=1998&p=.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The same year his voice and likeness were featured in the [[PlayStation (console)|PlayStation]] video game ''[[Apocalypse (video game)|Apocalypse]]''.<ref name="EWeekly">{{cite magazine|last=Walk|first=Gary Eng|title="Apocalypse" Now|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|url=https://ew.com/article/1998/12/04/bruce-willis-apocalypse/|date=December 4, 1998|access-date=May 9, 2009|archive-date=April 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425224611/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,286028,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1999, Willis played the starring role in [[M. Night Shyamalan]]'s film ''[[The Sixth Sense]]'', which was both a commercial and critical success.<ref name=tca/>