A film’s box office receipts rarely tell the whole story. Sometimes what turns into our favorite movies can’t find an audience at first, and sometimes we form a new opinion of a movie years later and re-evaluate how good it really was. Just as some box office smashes don’t stand the test of time, this list of box office flops shows that others age like fine wine.
The Insider (1999)
1999’s The Insider has an all-star cast, including Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, and Christopher Plummer, plus a proven director in Michael Mann, so what went wrong? Despite critical praise and seven Oscar nominations, The Insider was a big box office disappointment, likely due to the somewhat mundane subject matter, despite how exciting Mann makes it. People just didn’t go for a movie about a guy trying to bring down the tobacco industry in court and in the media.
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
The Hudsucker Proxy was the Coen Brothers first foray into big(ish) budget filmmaking and the result at the box office reflects a disappointment, but like virtually every other Coen Brothers movie, it’s since become a cult classic. With the exception of John Goodman and Steve Buscemi in small roles, none of the Coen’s usual cast members show up here, but are led wonderfully by Tim Robbins and Paul Newman. It doesn’t disappointed viewers.
Ed Wood (1994)
After the wild success of Batman and Batman Returns, Tim Burton did the most Tim Burton thing ever: he directed a passion project, in black and white, starring Johnny Depp in the titular role of Ed Wood. The movie didn’t find an audience when it was released, but it has since been lauded as one of Burton’s best movies, and at the time, critics loved it. It even picked up a couple of Oscars, including one for Martin Landau for Best Supporting Actor.
Fight Club (1999)
It’s almost impossible to believe that Fight Club wasn’t a smash hit when it was released in 1999, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t the biggest bomb on this list, but given how beloved this David Fincher film, starring Ed Norton and Brad Pitt, has become in the last quarter century, it’s amazing it wasn’t huge. Of course, the subject matter isn’t exactly feel-good summer movie stuff, so it makes sense that people hated it at first, though few do now.
Newsies (1992)
Newsies has developed a cult following in the years since its release, mostly made up of adults now, who saw it as a kid and loved it. Audiences at the time were lukewarm, at best, and frankly, most critics still are, but fans of the movie are still passionate about it, and it’s well worth a watch if you love musicals and have never seen it. It’s not for everyone, but those who love it, really love it,
Strange Days (1995)
Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days found a small but dedicated audience when it was released. Unfortunately for the film and Bigelow, it was pretty much a financial disaster. Angela Bassett and Tom Sizemore are fantastic in it. Though it did poorly upon release, and it’s still one of Bigalow’s least-talked-about films, it’s definitely found the audience it deserves all these years later.
Waterworld (1995)
In the history of cinema, few box office bombs are as notorious as director Kevin Reynolds’s Waterworld, starring Kevin Costner. Long before the movie even opened, it was getting panned for its insane cost overruns and bloated budget. The press was so bad, that it totally affected the box office when it did finally open in the summer of ’95. Here’s the thing: it’s a pretty great post-apocalyptic action movie. It’s not perfect, but it’s really fun, and in an alternate universe, it probably started a franchise.
The Frighteners (1996)
Before Peter Jackson took the world by storm with his Lord of the Rings, he made a great little more called The Frighteners with Michael J. Fox. It’s one of the most underrated movies of the ’90s and it’s hard to explain why it bombed, because it’s great. Fox was in a bit of a career lull at the time, but still, it should have done better.
Quick Change (1990)
No one would have expected a Bill Murray movie to bomb in 1990. He’d had a string of hits in the late ’80s, and another string in the early ’90s, but in 1990, his only movie, Quick Change, wasn’t very successful at all. With a supporting cast that included Geena Davis and Randy Quaid, Murray and company play bank robbers whom nothing goes right for. It’s a really quirky movie, but it’s also pretty darn funny.
The Iron Giant (1999)
Yes, you read that correctly, The Iron Giant was a box office disaster. There are a lot of reasons given as to why the beloved movie bombed, but the one that makes the most sense is that Warner Bros. realized way too late that it had a potential hit on its hands and marketing for the film was almost non-existent until the last minute. It got rave reviews, won tons of awards, and turned into one of the most loved movies of an entire generation, but it didn’t sell tickets in it’s theater run.
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
It actually makes a little sense that Glengarry Glen Ross wasn’t a hit. It’s a dense movie, based on grizzled old real estate salesmen and their industry. It doesn’t exactly sell itself. Alec Baldwin did get an Oscar nomination for his speech, a speech that has been quoted by more sleazy salesmen than there are fish in the ocean. It is an amazing speech though, and a fantastic movie.
School Ties (1992)
Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Cole Hauser, and Chris O’Donnell all star in School Ties. With a stacked cast like that, you’d expect a hit, but it was early in all their careers, and most weren’t well-known at the time. That made for a financial disappointment at the time, but looking back now? It’s wonderful watching all those actors so early in their careers.
Chaplin (1992)
Robert Downey, Jr. was just 27-years-old when he received his first Oscar nomination for Chaplin, though he’d already been famous for a decade. It’s an incredible performance that was certainly good enough to win (he lost to Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman), and probably should have won. It didn’t though, partly, possibly, because the much-hyped movie didn’t perform at the box office. It’s worth watching just for the performance alone, though.
Last Action Hero (1993)
After the success of Twins in 1988, Arnold Schwarzenegger spent the early ’90s mixing in more family-friendly roles with his action-star roles. Last Action Hero is a meta-tastic example of this, playing up his reputation and fame, while aiming for an all-ages crowd. Is it Schwarzenegger’s best? No, not at all, but it is still a really fun movie with all kinds of easter eggs and jokes related to the world of action movies at the time that he was so integral to.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption is one of the more fascinating examples on this list. Hailed by CinemaBlend as the best movie of the 1990s, it’s certainly one of the most beloved movies of all time. It didn’t start that way though, not by a long shot. Much like Andy Dufresne’s determination and patience in digging out of prison, Shawshank was a slow burn and didn’t really find success until it aired on cable twice a day, every day, for years in the late ’90s.
The Two Jakes (1990)
In retrospect, maybe a sequel to Chinatown 16 years after the original wasn’t the smartest idea. The original is still hailed as one of the greatest screenplays of all time, and while The Two Jakes doesn’t quite reach those lofty heights, it’s still a really well-told story.
Starship Troopers (1997)
One of the most misunderstood movies in history when it was released, Starship Troopers was a huge disappointment at the box office, based on a lot of bad reviews that didn’t understand the satire of the film. Obviously, in the years since, it’s enjoyed a huge cult following, and for good reason.
Man On The Moon (1999)
Jim Carrey’s stardom in the late ’90s was at it’s pinnacle, and with Man On The Moon, he showed he was ready for more serious roles than his previous movies. He gives an A+ performance as Andy Kauffman in Man On The Moon, but audiences didn’t seem interested, which is their fault, not his. It’s a great movie.
Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Miller’s Crossing holds a 93% approval rating from critics and a 90% approval from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, which tells you everything you need to know about one of the Coen Brothers’ best movies. It failed to even make half its budget though, as a limited release really hurt it.
Flight Of The Intruder (1991)
Director and writer John Milius is better known for his great one-liners and had a very hit-or-miss career. None of the movies he directed were critical darlings, though a few were huge successes with audiences, like Conan The Barbarian and Red Dawn. Flight of the Intruder wasn’t popular with critics or audiences, but over three decades later, it’s better than that. Now, it’s a fascinating window into cinema in the early ’90s.
Mystery Men (1999)
It’s easy to see that Mystery Men was just a decade or two too early. Had it been released in the heart of the recent superhero movie golden age, there is no doubt this superhero parody would have performed much better.
Event Horizon (1997)
Event Horizon is another classic example of a film that failed to find an audience in theaters but became a best seller when it was released on VHS and DVD. It’s now cited often as an influence on sci-fi movies of the 21st century, but bombed upon it’s initial release.
Hoffa (1992)
The Danny DeVito-directed Hoffa was polarizing when it was released, and no doubt that contributed to its less-than-stellar performance at the box office. Jack Nicholson is great at playing Jimmy Hoffa, though, so it’s a much better movie than the box office results indicate.
Cry-Baby (1990)
Like many John Waters movie, Cry-Baby isn’t for everyone and that was evident by its box office results. It was one of Waters’ first forays into more mainstream pictures, and despite starring Johnny Depp, it was still a flop. If you love Waters, though, this is a great movie.
Delirious (1991)
John Candy made some of the most quotable movies of all time during his career, and somehow Delirious flies under the radar, but it’s every bit as quotable as other Candy films. Looking back, it should have been a bigger hit.
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken (1991)
Based on the memoir of Sonora Webster Carver, who was a carnival horse diver in the 1920s and ’30s, Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken is a love story at its…heart, but in a modern late-20th century world, a movie about carnival horse diving understandably didn’t resonate with audiences, but it’s still a great movie.
Fallen (1998)
Despite a great cast including Denzel Washington and John Goodman and an intriguing supernatural horror story, Fallen was a bomb. Over the years though, it’s found an audience and it’s thought of much better today than when it was released, for good reason.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Eyes Wide Shut is a tricky movie on this list. While it ended up performing pretty well on the international market, it was a huge disappointment domestically. Much of that can probably be blamed on director Stanley Kubrick’s near-fanatical obsession with keeping anything about the production a secret. Despite Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman leading the film, it still bombed at first, and picked up steam later.
The Super (1991)
Okay, okay, we’ll admit The Super is not at the top of the best Joe Pesci movies, but it’s always great to see Pesci use his great comedic chops, and if you love him in Home Alone, you’ll likely love him here, too.
Billy Bathgate (1991)
Billy Bathgate, starring Dustin Hoffman as gangster Dutch Schultz, is a must-see for any fans of mob movies. It’s not the best of the genre, but it’s far from the worst, despite its poor showing at the box office, where it bombed horribly.
The Adventures Of Ford Fairlane (1990)
Andrew “Dice” Clay’s humor is not for everyone. In fact, it’s mostly for 13-year-old boys at summer camp. Still, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane is a pretty decent movie, so long as you can get behind the Diceman’s humor, which many can.
Tank Girl (1995)
If any comic book series deserves a movie reboot, it’s Tank Girl. The world simply wasn’t ready for the Lori Petty-led film based on the popular underground comic of the same name. There’s a reason you still see cosplayers dressed as this version of the character at comic cons.
This list is proof that not every movie can be a blockbuster, or even a moderate hit, despite how good they are. Plenty of great movies in the ’90s were box office bombs, but that doesn’t mean they should be relegated to the dustbin of cinema history.
