Films that bombed but found an audience later

The Thing was nowhere near being a hit, it finished in 42nd place in 1982 (Domestic gross). The #1 for that year was E.T. now that was a HIT.

 

1999 was another "embarrassment of riches" year.

 

The 1985 movie? it wasn't a hit, finished in 57th place domestic for 1985.

 

"Bomb" is a subjective term, and a lot of it depends on expectations.

For instance, when the "Star Wars" prequels emerged late 90s/early 00s, I felt $300 million in the US was minimum for E1 to not "bomb", and I felt $200m was the minimum for E2 and E3.

If "Troopers" had made $200m in the US, though, it would've been a big hit.

And if "Austin Powers" had made $200m in 1997, it would've been seen as a huge smash.

So one movie's bomb is another's remarkable hit...

 

See my prior comment that the film felt to me like kids playing dress-up. Doogie was just another example. Denise Richards as - what, a nuclear physicist? - was another.

I've read some other commentaries mentioning Nazi-like uniforms in the show. Also flew straight over my head.

Just read a comment from Verhoeven that the coed shower scene - which I described as "creepy" - was also meant to deliver subtext. Namely, these attractive young people seemed to barely notice nude members of the opposite sex in close proximity. Their libidos had been sublimated by the fascist state. So the unsettling tone was intentional.

 

Off topic, but I saw Urgh!: A Music War at college as an 18-year-old kid from the burbs. And the sight and sound of Klaus Nomi absolutely blew my mind.



He was definitely an original.

 

I don't remember the year, but he was also in "Mr. Mike's Mondo Video"!

 

I saw that - a sweet film. I thought Lumi Cavazos had a chance to be a big thing, but it didn't happen.

 

According to Wikipedia, this film grossed $248MM on a $75MM budget. I wouldn't call that a bomb.

ETA: Woops - @Oatsdad beat me to this.

 

I enjoyed the film, but while it runs 1:46, it felt much longer. The pace is almost sleepy. Not sure if adding more would've helped, unless lesser scenes were removed, or the pace quickened considerably.

 

The English studio tried to kill it, as it changed hands during production and the new owner was a devout Christian.

Only released in one cinema in London as part of a double showing (with another masterpiece, Don't Look Now).

It is one of the best films ever made IMO.

 

Can I also add this.



Totally bombed at the box office. I actually think it is Allen's best film, and the dance scene in Paris in front of the (now partially destroyed) Notre Dame is maybe the most beautiful scene ever committed to celluloid!

 

I'm not sure why a devout Christian would be opposed to the film. It certainly paints paganism in a negative light.

Unless they objected to all the sensual imagery.

 

There are pages and pages of dialogue in the original script from Lord Summerisle about some of the absurdities of Christianity which the owner considered to be blasphemy.

Most of those scenes never made it into the movie and the original negatives have never been found. The received wisdom is the studio owner had them destroyed.

Only a few precious lines remain now, such as this gem: "Himself the son of a virgin impregnated, I believe, by a ghost."

 

Right, and they kept making them as a public service.

 

That was "World Is Not Enough". Richards becomes a pilot in "Troopers"...

 

Has this actually "found an audience"? I'm unaware that it's become some cult classic!

I thought it was completely awful, BTW:

Everyone Says I Love You (1996)

 

I think it began to (briefly) and now Allen is out of favour again.

Is that your own review?

It was fairly well received in the UK. The main film magazine here is Empire which gave it five stars.

 

Mentioned Highlander in another thread recently and seems to fit the bill, mixed reviews and still not rated very highly but does have a good following still I think.

Mark Kermode, a well known film critic in the UK, has said that pretty much any film will never lose money, it may not break even on theatrical release but by the time it goes through home release/TV/merch etc etc at some point it comes into profit.

 

Death Bed: The Bed that Eats was made in 1977, never released to theaters until 2003, and until then was only seem on a pirated VHS. Patton Oswalt's standup helped it secure a cult following, where he hilariously goes on and on about how a film with that concept could possibly be greenlit, then proposes a sequel. Rape Stove: The Stove that Rapes.

 

It needed some scenes that were cut because they were germane to the story. Some within the movie needed to be cut completely while others needed trimming.

 

Yup.

I don't recall ever hearing that the film enjoyed any kind of "audience". It might've gotten a bit of love from fans, but it's still pretty much forgotten, I think...

 

Good example. According to Wikipedia, the original film made $13MM on a $19MM budget. I certainly thought it was underwhelming.

However, it seems to have developed a strong following. The franchise has at least four sequels, and two-three Highlander-branded TV series.

Highlander (franchise) - Wikipedia

 

Reminds me of Oculus (2014), which centers on a killer mirror.

 

You don't strike me as an unbiased observer!