How Space Jam Became The Highest-grossing Basketball Film

This content was produced in partnership with WSN.com.Thirty years ago this November, Michael Jordan swapped the United Center for a basketball court in outer space and a teammate called Bugs Bunny. Space Jam opened in American theaters on 15th November 1996, topped the box office with a $27.5 million opening weekend and went on to take $250.2 million worldwide. For more than 25 years it was the highest-grossing basketball film ever made, which is a remarkable record for a movie whose climax involves a cartoon rabbit and a dunk from half court.It also arrived at the peak of Jordan’s second act. Five months earlier his Chicago Bulls had finished the regular season 72-10 and won the 1996 championship, and three of that roster, Steve Kerr, Luc Longley and Bill Wennington, turn up in the film too. Space Jam was not just a cartoon with a sports star in it. It was a snapshot of the most famous team in the world at the exact moment it became the most famous team in the world.The Other Anniversary Nobody Has Wrapped Up YetWarner Bros. has spent 2026 marking the movie’s birthday. The 72-win Bulls are still waiting for theirs. Randy Brown, the backup guard who won three titles in Chicago inc...