Box Office bombs that aged into classics

It is hard to believe that some of the cult classics we know and love today didn’t have a stellar Box Office performance. While most of these movies failed to impress when they were released, they still went on to break records and earn themselves lifelong legacies. The initial failure of a movie can be blamed on a few things like the budget or it could be narrowed down to the disjointed advertising. Whatever the reason, we are glad these movies stood the test of time. These are a few Box Office bombs worth celebrating.

The Shawshank Redemption

While The Shawshank Redemption may be considered a classic today, it was an entirely different story when the flick was first released. The prison centered tale of Andy Dufresne was not received well by audiences and only managed to make $58.3 million from a $25 million budget. The movie may not have been a blockbuster hit at the time, but it still managed to snag a few Oscar nominations. Since then, the movie’s popularity has risen and is loved by many audiences today.

Fight Club

We are about to break the first rule of Fight Club. The cult classic features a fresh-faced Brad Pitt and Edward Norton who keeps us guessing about the erratic twists and turns throughout the plot. The movie was not considered to be successful during its release because it only managed to rake in $100.9 million from the enormous $63 million budget. However, it was a different story when it was released on DVD and managed to sell a whopping 6 million copies.

The Wizard Of Oz

The Wizard Of Oz had just about every element you could only wish for from a large scale Hollywood production back in 1939. It was a whimsical breath of fresh air that landed up becoming MGM’s most expensive production at the time. Unfortunately, all these fantastical elements ended up affecting the movie’s overall performance at the Box Office. The musical only managed to accrue $3.17 million during its release from the $2.7 million budget, which ultimately deemed the movie a financial failure. When the flick was re-released in 1956, it literally took the world by storm and quickly became the most-watched film in movie history. The Wizard Of Oz is also one of the very few movies to have made it onto UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register list.

Blade Runner

The 1982 science fiction film, Blade Runner, has become a cult classic most have seen a few times over. The film is set in a dystopian future of 2019, which was an intriguing new concept for the time. But this was not the only sci-fi flick to hit the theaters that month. The Blade Runner premiere was released a week after “E.T.,” which inevitably went on to be one of the highest-grossing movies of that year. The release of the greatest movie in history coupled with a few production errors and Harrison Ford’s monotone narration didn’t do much to help the film’s performance at the Box Office. Blade Runner only managed to earn $32.9 million in theaters from a hefty budget of $28 million. But, like most of the flicks on this list, Blade Runner has stood the test of time. With seven different versions of the title and a sequel, it’s safe to say this flick has earned its rightful place on our screens.