Blazing Minds

Most times when a film fails to perform at the box office, it’s with good reason. Turkey’s abound on the shelves of your local Blockbuster. But there are times when good movies fail at the box office, then go on to become classic. So with this list of six films that lost a lot of money at the box office, I thought I’d start with the obvious duds, then finish up with films that found new life and success after being pulled from theaters.

6. The Adventure of Pluto Nash (2002)

With a budget of $100 million and a box office take of just $4.4 million, this film has the dubious honor of being once of the biggest bombs of all time. It sent Eddie Murphy’s career into a tailspin that landed him in light-hearted comedy hell. Well, at least those movies made money.

5. Cleopatra (1963)

Perhaps the last nail the coffin of epic films, this lavish production had everything going for it. Beginning with the two hottest stars of the day: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, expensive, lavish sets, 100s of extras, this film went through development hell and barely got finished. To add insult to injury, the film was the highest grossing film of the year! As it cost twice what it made, the film bombed.

4. Cutthroat Island (1995)

Geena Davis, Renny Harlin, two red-hot properties in Hollywood. The result a movie that failed so miserably that it bankrupted Carolco Pictures, earning back a dismal $9.9 million of it’s $100+ million  budget. I bet the folks involved in this mess wished they’d cut their own throats.

3. Duck Soup (1933)

Heralded as one of the greatest comedies ever made, this film performed so poorly at the box office that it got the Marx Brothers fired by Paramount – and yet it went on to influence Chaplin and even Kubrick’s  Dr. Strangelove. To say nothing of being the first of a string of classic films the Brothers went on to make after hooking up with MGM. Now ‘that’s the most ridiculous thing I ever hoid.’

2. Watchmen (2009)

Some have called this adaptation of Alan Moore’s graphic novel, ‘The Blade Runner Of The 21st Century.’ Released amidst the current love affair movie goers are having with superhero flicks, this thought-provoking, intelligent, violent deconstruction of the superhero genre did not register with audiences plunking down $$ for heroic thrills and spills. And yet the Director’s Cut and Ultimate Cut DVDs of the film have been steady best sellers since their release. This could be the next classic waiting to be discovered.

1. Blade Runner (1982)

Almost universally acclaimed today as one of the best science-fiction movies ever made, Blade Runner was a dismal flop at the box office, barely surviving the opening weekend. In the same year that gave us E.T., Star Trek II, and Poltergeist, this brooding classic fell victim to bad timing and bad editing. Couple those with a soaring budget and low box office and you normally get turkey stew. Yet, this film defied the odds and continues to dazzle viewers and influence artists, writers and directors today.

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