Eminem devoured the early 2000s. Everyone used to rap along to how they had mom’s spaghetti thrown back up on their sweaters. Short, bleached haircuts and baggy white T-shirts filled the crowds as everyone tried to imitate “Real Slim Shady”. But it wasn’t just music. When Em brought his musical origins to the theater, it was a smash hit. It even had enough juice to take down one of the biggest film franchises of all time.
On January 20, 2003, Eminem’s 2002 hip-hop biopic 8 Mile beat out The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers at the U.K. box office. The Detroit rapper netted £4.4 million, stopping the hit franchise from dominating again after four weeks. According to The Guardian, that’s a better figure than the classic Gladiator as well. For what it’s worth, that didn’t mean Peter Jackson’s epic struggled against Eminem. They still made around $400 million outside of the States.
For the uninitiated, 8 Mile centers around character Jimmy Smith Jr., or B-Rabbit. He leads a pretty rundown life as a blue-collar worker living at home with his mom and her abusive boyfriend. Consequently, he starts to doubt the rap dreams he has, especially after the brutal humiliation he had in a rap battle. Eventually, through his ups and downs, he reclaims his pride and lives happily ever after.
Eminem Beats ‘The Lord of The Rings’ in The U.K. 23 Years Ago Today
2003 proved to be a big year for 8 Mile in general. Em won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for his smash single “Lose Yourself”, arguably his most iconic song to date. As a result, he became the first solo rapper to ever win an Academy Award.
Originally, Mariah Carey was slated to play Eminem’s mom, according to music producer Damion ‘Damizza’ Young. During a June 2025 podcast, he noted that Carey wanted to try acting amid the success of her song “Heartbreaker” with Jay-Z. Eminem and his team inquired, but Young didn’t think it was a very good idea. When they all got on a call together to talk about her playing his mom, she immediately got the ick. “She did not like that s*** at all,” Young said. “Her insecurities kicked in big time.”
In the end, Kim Basinger, someone who could more convincingly portray his mom, played the role. Still, that inevitably caused a bit of beef between Carey and Eminem, even sparking a diss track from Mariah with “Obsessed“.
The post On This Day 23 Years Ago, Eminem Dethroned ‘Lord of the Rings’ With His Classic Film ‘8 Mile’ appeared first on VICE.
