Fotos International/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Twenty-five years ago, Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis were on the run.
Their classic film Thelma & Louise was released May 24, 1991. It follows the journey of Davis’ Thelma Dickinson and Sarandon’s Louise Sayer, after the latter shoots and kills a man who attacks Thelma, as they embark on a trip to Mexico.
The movie famously ends with the pair driving into the Grand Canyon, killing themselves.
Thelma & Louise earned a total of more than 45 million dollars at the domestic box office — nearly triple its budget, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. It earned six Oscar nominations, including acting nods for Sarandon and Davis and a directing nod for Ridley Scott, and won gold for its screenplay.
Last month, Sarandon, 69, and Davis, 60, spoke with Robin Roberts for a Good Morning America interview about the movie’s legacy.
“When I read the script I said, ‘I have to be in this movie,’” Davis said. “It was so rare to find a script with two incredibly well-drawn female characters, but none of us had any idea…had any clue that it would strike. We were hoping people would see it because it was a small budget [film].”
But according to Sarandon, the shocking ending wasn’t the original plan for director Ridley Scott.
“He said, ‘I know [Louise] will definitely die, I’m not sure about [Thelma],’” Sarandon recalled. “He said, ‘You might push her out at the last minute,’ but actually, we only had one take.”
Davis said, “I think the ending is exactly how it should be because we get away. Despite the fact that we kill ourselves, we retain control of our lives to the bitter end.”
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