Over on the Heaven's Gate thread, TheWakeUpBomb mentioned The Right Stuff as a film that bombed at the box office but that later became a classic. I thought I'd start a thread on the topic. What are films that tanked at the box office but later became American classics. The Right Stuff was a heavily praised and promoted film that everyone expected to be a hit and then wasn't. But now its quality and popularity is widely recognized. Citizen Kane got nearly run out of town by William Randolph Hearst, but survived to become what it is. Blade Runner was released on the same day as ET. The world's favorite Reee's Pieces chomper got the box office. Meanwhile Blade Runner took 20 years and a director's cut to gain its rightful place as an honored American film. It's a Wonderful Life did poorly at the box office, originally, but became classic because of its traditional play during the Christmas season.
Maybe down the years Donnie Darko. Though actually that may be more of a cult hit than anything else. Damn.
Due to the death of Dino DeLaurentis's studio in Wilmington, NC - and consequently no advertising budget - Heathers made almost no box office impression, then become a runaway video rental hit.
I was thinking along the same lines. Like many of the Coen Brothers' movies do not do so well at the box office but are considered classics and loved by fans.
Comedies are especially good for this. Office Space This Is Spinal Tap UHF, which I swear is on Comedy Central from 6 am to midnight every weekend. Kingpin OK, maybe none of them are exactly "classics" in the traditional sense, but none found an audience until video / DVD.
How did Swingers do in theaters? IIRC, people just didn't notice it until it was out in video, but I don't know a single guy who can't quote lines from that movie.
The Shawshank Redemption didn't do well in theaters when it was first released, if I remember correctly (anyone have an IMDB Pro subscription?). I'm trying to think older, but I just don't know the box office of many of these 1970s films that may be candidates. Is there a non-subscription place to get that information?
Along these same lines, I'd add Fletch and Quick Change. Murf PS Garrison Keillor was talking about It's a Wonderful Life during The Writer's Almanac last week. He said that the movie had flopped in the theatres and didn't become the holiday classic until the 70's. I had always thought it was a holiday staple going back much further than the 70's. Apparantly, the studio chose not to renew the copyright on the movie when it was about to expire in the early 70's. So, PBS seized upon the free movie and started showing it regularly during the holiday season. It then became so popular that it spread to other channels and became a classic.
You also have a movie like hte Bookdock Saints, which was never released in theatre, but it seems like everybody in high school and college has seen it and knows it by heart.
some of these were far from bombs (and some are far from classics), but i dont have time to look up box office receipts as portugal v russia is about to start
Most everything mentioned here is just a cult favorite, not classic. I guess thats my fault for starting with Donnie Darko.
To this day more people saw GWTW in theaters than any other film in history. It was so big that schools in Georgia were closed the day it opened. It played for years in some places.
austin powers cost $17M and earned $55M (1997) - by my estimate, that movie made $20M+ profit on box office alone