Movies That Didn’t Deserve To Bomb
As I was sitting around on set of the Incredible Hulk movie this evening, some of the other background people and I were playing cards and started talking about a few movie issues. One of the topics that came up was an interesting one. One guys asked “What movies bombed that you really don’t think deserved to bomb”? It really made me think, and a pretty good discussion started.
So I wanted to ask you guys… what movies, off the top of your head, can you think of that did really poorly that you believed deserved more attention from people?
Here are a couple that came to mind for me that are more recent and in no particular order:
1) Grindhouse - As much as I disliked Death Proof, as a whole I thought this was a creative, fun, all out entertainment driven project that was just shunned by movie goers. Such a shame. This movie deserved a better fate
2) Mr. Brooks - This is a flat out BRILLIANT movie. It’s so weird when you read the critics on it. It’s like half of them get it… the other half don’t.
3) Shaun of the Dead - As audiences flock to see drivel like Norbit make over $100 million… a gem of a film (which I personally put on my top 100 films of all time list) like Shaun of the Dead makes a humble $13
4) Hot Fuzz - Not quite as spectacular as SOTD, and not really a “bomb”, but this great flick should have made $23 million on it’s first 2 days… not in total
5) Transamerica - Just good solid storytelling that was more than just the whole trans-gender issue. Didn’t even crack $10 million
6) Letters From Iwo Jima - Don’t tell me studios don’t know how to make great films. Made $13 mil
Ok, so these are just some off the top of my head. This post is meant to be a discussion… so chime in here. What films can you instantly think of that you feel deserved a lot better of an audience than it received? Give us a couple.
1. Mark replies at 26th July 2007, 1:45 am :
They’re a little older than the current films you mention in your post, but I’ve always thought that Powder and Equilibrium unfairly lost money. They’re both great, thought-provoking films.
Equilibrium may have been a victim of poor timing being (incorrectly) compared to The Matrix.
2. emilyk replies at 26th July 2007, 1:59 am :
One word: Serenity
3. ClassyAss replies at 26th July 2007, 2:11 am :
I agree with your list How bout another post on movies that didn’t deserve to be hits? It seems there are even more examples of that.
4. Matt replies at 26th July 2007, 2:17 am :
I totally agree with you on Grindhouse. I loved that movie and felt disappointed when I found it that it did terrible in the box office. I also agree with Hot Fuzz. I saw that movie twice and it was amazing.
5. John Campea replies at 26th July 2007, 2:18 am :
Hey EmilyK
Oh my goodness! How could I NOT have immediately thought of Serenity?!?! That movie is like the poster child for this post.
6. Daniel Tayag replies at 26th July 2007, 2:25 am :
I think the Shawshank Redemption should be up there. But then again, it’s such a classic now that this proves nil.
7. Alex replies at 26th July 2007, 2:33 am :
Definitely agree with Serenity, and sticking with the sci-fi genre, I would include Dark City, a great film that no one saw. And for last year, I would put Little Children. One of the best films of the year that never took off.
8. James replies at 26th July 2007, 3:17 am :
I agree with the list, except for Mr.Brooks. I really disliked it, and I’d like to think that I understood it. I’ll have to go back and read you review to understand your feelings on it, but I’ll ask this now: Did you really like Demi Moore in it? Its some of the worst acting in a film I’ve ever seen.
Then again William Hurt is awesome in it.
9. CRAIG replies at 26th July 2007, 4:07 am :
the island is a great film to watch…so is 13th warrior and equilibrium. - were not box office successes
Also I know transformers made a lot of money but with a lot more advertising i think it could have been so much bigger. ive seen 2 tv spots in u.k - everyone i speak to thinks it is a joke of a film as they think it will be like the cartoon. on the other hand the ones that i have shown the trailer to are saying “omfg” i have to see this!!! that’s an example of how marketing/advertising can really work. if you have an amax=zing trailer show it!!!
i saw transformers early at u.k press screening so i knew how good this movie is and that’s why i was so frustrated that as each week passed on with no u.k buzz developing.
anyway thats my opinion from across the pond
10. alfie replies at 26th July 2007, 5:57 am :
hustle and flow
serenity
history of violence
grindhouse for sure……they wanted to give us a different movie going experiance but we decided we wanted ghost rider and wild hogs.
hellboy….only made 50 million domestic….just shy of one hundred mill worldwide…deserved to be much bigger when you look at the grosses of films like fucking fantastic four and ghost rider..at least we are getting a second one
ZODIAC should have done much better…..but time will be kind to that film…it will be looked back as a fucking masterpiece…i have now seen it about 5 times and I cannot get enough of it. finchers best film by miles and miles….
united 93
children of men
marie antoinette
one hour photo
narc
dark blue
Labyrinth…..as loved as it is in general now it only made 12 million back in the day…1986 sure but it was still considered a bomb on release and for how wonderful every fucking frame is it deserved a more successful fate on release
the thing was a bomb on release…really bad time to release a film about evil aliens hot on the heels of e.t.
big trouble in little china….i wish jack burton was as famous as indiana jones
as for mr brooks john..well it should just be counting it blessings that it got made….
it was awful.
11. Bill replies at 26th July 2007, 6:44 am :
The Iron Giant deserved a better fate.
12. eilidh replies at 26th July 2007, 8:08 am :
TOTALLY agree with Serenity
and History of Violence - saw that one by accident, and thought it great - proper acting!
13. Josh replies at 26th July 2007, 8:16 am :
Are you all kidding me?
Office Space.
14. Darren j Seeley replies at 26th July 2007, 8:27 am :
I’m kind of curious how ‘Shawn Of The Dead’ rates as a bomb given its budget and international appeal, but perhaps we should distinguish the difference between USA/Canada and UK? I’m also ruling out films that were given a limited release/theatrical run.
Anyway, “my list”…
1. Blade Runner
2. Cinderella Man
3. The Thing (1982)
4. Letters From Iwo Jima
5. Enemy At The Gates
6. Innerspace (1987)
7. The Alamo
8. Stir Of Echoes
9. Silverado
10. Serenity
15. Darren j Seeley replies at 26th July 2007, 8:28 am :
Whoops!
Forgot one…..
SLITHER
Number #11, perhaps?
16. Larry replies at 26th July 2007, 9:00 am :
I’m a little late to the comments, but yeah….Serenity popped in my head the moment I saw the title of the post.
1 - Serenity
2 - Oscar
3 - The Island
4 - Slither
17. ChrisP replies at 26th July 2007, 9:03 am :
Good lord, yes! Iron Giant deserved a lot better. Actually, I remember getting mass emails from people in the animation industry, trying to get people to watch it because it was one of the best 2D animated features to come out since the old Disney classics like Snow White and Fantasia. That and the rumour that studios are stopping production of 2D features due to the lack of audience. When I was still involved in the comic book industry, there was a lot of buzz going around about how great it was, but in the end very few people went to see it. I was also guity of that error and I didn’t know how wonderful it was until 3 years after its release. I still kind of feel bad about it, but at least Brad Bird is getting the fame that he deserves.
18. KMAN replies at 26th July 2007, 9:07 am :
I probably get rocks thrown at me for this, but i really liked riddik and thought it should have done really well at the cinemas,
19. Calviin replies at 26th July 2007, 9:12 am :
I was gonna say Serenity. Others have beat me to it. I still cast my vote.
Reverse Tab 17 times.
20. Max replies at 26th July 2007, 9:24 am :
The first one I thought of was Grindhouse and then Children of Men. Children of Men was a great film but only made $10 million in it’s opening weekend and didn’t even crack $70 million worldwide in it’s full time in theaters.
21. Brian replies at 26th July 2007, 9:47 am :
Dark City - What a brilliant movie this was, the editing, the story. This movie is so much better than the Matrix which has a similar story (and some of the same sets)
22. Kristina replies at 26th July 2007, 9:56 am :
Hot Fuzz deserved every penny of Spiderman 3’s gross.
23. T. replies at 26th July 2007, 10:21 am :
Everything that Spike Lee has created deserves a larger audience.
24. Drew replies at 26th July 2007, 10:50 am :
United 93
Little Children
and of course Grind House.
25. Beejag replies at 26th July 2007, 11:38 am :
I would have to say in no particular order,
Slither
Grindhouse
Solaris
Serenity
snakes on a plane :D
26. Beejag replies at 26th July 2007, 11:39 am :
I’ve also just come to the realization that most of these movies start with the letter “S” maybe im on to something ?? :P
27. Mofo Toshio replies at 26th July 2007, 12:01 pm :
Zodiac. NO ONE saw it, yet both of the people I saw it with along with myself walked out of the theatre RAVING about this brilliant character study. Another perfect example of a movie that shouldn’t have bombed; Cabin Fever. Such a hilariously (yet intentionally)campy, at times quite shocking throwback to ’70’s style gore flicks.
28. Al replies at 26th July 2007, 12:18 pm :
Blade Runner- Fortunately, the sci-fi masterpiece got the respect it deserve once it was release on DVD.
The Thing- At the time of the release, I think ET was hogging up the attention. I felt bad for John Carpenter.
Shoalin Soccer- Miramax really screw this movie over by making some edits, poor marketing campaign and constant delays. It ranks as one of the most downloaded film at one point. If it was release during the world soccer craze (forgot what year), I believe it would have become a hugh success and propell Stephen Chow’s popularity in the west.
Equilibrium- Once again, Miramax screw this movie over. No push from the studio at all and as a result, no one heard about it.
Serenity- Nuff said.
Army of Darkness- I can’t believe this movie was not successful at the box office. Then again, I was one of those people who discover this movie on VHS years after its release. Atleast it gain cult-like status. Hail to the king, baby.
Next topic should be successful movies that deserve to bomb. I can think up a long list of movies…..
29. Rafael replies at 26th July 2007, 12:20 pm :
I thought Snakes on a Plane was a good movie - not Oscar worthy - yet fun. Great concept, action, humor, etc..
People made such a big deal about this movie, yet it tanked.
30. Justin Levine replies at 26th July 2007, 12:21 pm :
Alfie nailed it -
In terms of recent movies, ZODIAC was a masterpiece that got a raw deal.
31. Bob replies at 26th July 2007, 1:07 pm :
SPIDERMAN 3!!!! I liked the movie but it still bombed. But most of you are thinking, NO IT DID NOT! But it did. The movie cost more than it made, so they didnt make SHIT!!! exactly.
32. John Whiteaker replies at 26th July 2007, 1:44 pm :
MALLRATS!!!
Or maybe just any Kevin Smith movie…
33. kc replies at 26th July 2007, 2:37 pm :
Stir of Echoes… great film. Rented it on a whim a few years ago
Office Space… classic
Shawn of the Dead… great… didn’t love hot fuzz though
Deep Impact… don’t know if it bombed or not, but I love that movie
Movies that didn’t deserve to be hits. SW Ep I, II & III
34. Anonymous replies at 26th July 2007, 2:43 pm :
im gonna go with the island. hot fuzz was better for me than shaun, fuzz is so damn good.
35. will replies at 26th July 2007, 2:46 pm :
that last post was mine
and spiderman 3 in no way at all bombed. worldwide its got to be up in the 800 mil range. biggest opening weekend ever, is over 300 mil domestic. it may or may not have cost up to 300 mil to make, but it definitely is not a failure
also, i hated that movie
36. Jorge! replies at 26th July 2007, 3:21 pm :
Along with many already listed:
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - really great, quirky action movie, renewed my faith in Robert Downey Jr.
Brick - how did this not do well??? It’s so incredibly good.
Downfall - i guess it got nominated for Oscar but really most people haven’t heard of it, it’s a really great war movie about the final days of hitler’s life. Amazing acting. If you liked Letters to Iwo Jima, I highly recommend.
Collateral - again was nominated for oscar for acting but wasn’t a huge hit
3 Kings - cool film about the first gulf war
The Siege - interesting pre 9/11 terrorist drama that still seems eerily relevant to me.
Spanglish - kind of sappy but i love it.
Backdraft - another one that is oscar nominated but I feel has been unfairly forgotten with time.
37. Goon replies at 26th July 2007, 5:21 pm :
the Mr. Brooks addition undermines the rest of the list… shoulda replaced it with Children of Men, a movie that easily could have taken in more of a crowd with more advertising
38. Jordan replies at 26th July 2007, 5:58 pm :
I think it’s truly depressing that SOTD and Hot Fuzz only combined to take in 36 mil, while shit heaps like Epic Movie and Date Movie gross 40-50 mil each.
I think Equilibrium deserved to do better than it did.
39. alfie replies at 26th July 2007, 6:32 pm :
the iron giant!! how could I have forgotten that!!!
and kiss kiss bang bang - thought that was going to be huge when I saw it and it just didn’t do half tyhe business it deserved…
Cinderella Man should have done better…..it wasn’t just the bad publicity crowe got at the time due to his thuggery the marketing was awful. I saw the trailers and made a point of not seeing it. then I saw it on dvd at a friends house and watched every night for a week.
speaking of boxing i thought rocky balboa deserved a bigger audience too…..I know it did well for what it cost but it is a really great film and I had to talk so many people into giving it a shot..people were laughing at me when I told them it is actually a really well made film.
and now speaking of stallone COPLAND is fucking fantastic and not only should it have made more money stallone should have won an oscar. His perfromance in that film is fucking amazing…
this thread will be a long one I think….so many great movies deserving better fates than they recieved
40. chris anderson replies at 26th July 2007, 8:50 pm :
Would have to agree with serenity for sure one of the best sci-fi movies of late.
Pan’s Labyrinth would be the one on my list for sure… definitely my favourite of the year and of my favourite foreign movies. Did anyone ever see a movie called Hard Candy either? That movie was not recognized at all and I thought it was cutting edge for sure, espcially it’s subject matter. Those are the ones I can think off the top of my head and Shaun of the Dead really is the shit and deserves to make so much more
Black Snake Moan also one of my favourite movies of Samuel Jackson of late and made Christina Ricci look dam hot.
Keep this thread going on for ever :)
41. Viddy replies at 26th July 2007, 11:43 pm :
KISS KISS BANG BANG!!! A SCANNER DARKLY!!! DAMMITT, ANYTHING WITH ROBERT DOWNEY JR!!! ;)
42. DarkKinger replies at 27th July 2007, 12:45 am :
Where the FUCK is Behind The Mask: The Rise of Lesile Vernon~?!!!
43. Josh replies at 27th July 2007, 8:12 am :
RE: Chris Anderson
Pan’s Labyrinth did really well at the box office, it ended up being the biggest foreign film of all time in the American box office.
Another one I would add would be the Tommy Lee Jones directed “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”, a film that could have reinvented the western genre but instead went completely under the radar and didn’t make half of its budget.
44. MAKIS replies at 27th July 2007, 12:16 pm :
you need to ask the last 2 movies by Night Shymalan LADY IN THE WATER and THE VILLAGE amazing movies movie from a director that nobody seems to understand espacially in USA (i’m writting from Europe Greece)
45. Red Sea replies at 27th July 2007, 1:31 pm :
Zodiac was really good, I had put off seeing it, because I was already aware of the story, the suspects etc, but It kept me completely interested throughout the film. Which is a testament to how good it is because I have ADD, and the film consist of paper chases and theories, with a few dark scenes. It was awesome.
Serenity. That movie was horrible. Im not sure why its being mentioned so many times in here. It was like Tank Girl combined with Farscape or something. Throw in some bad actors, some martial arts that come out of nowhere, and you have one lame movie. Generic.
46. Matthias777 replies at 27th July 2007, 10:04 pm :
Another vote for Serenity; not sure how someone could call Serenity “generic”.
Also, A Scanner Darkly, The Way of the Gun, Rounders (even though it’s become a cult hit since), The Girl Next Door (the ads for this sucked, but I was forced to watch it with friends and really enjoyed it), and The Prestige.
Makis: I wouldn’t say that The Village bombed; it made $114 million domestic (although it did have a $60 million budget). Not great but not really a bomb.
47. diskjokk replies at 29th July 2007, 12:00 am :
Serenity is at the very top of my list. Especially because it didn’t do well at the box office, we’ll never see the crew from Firefly again.
48. The Other James Taylor replies at 29th July 2007, 5:53 pm :
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49. The Other James Taylor replies at 29th July 2007, 6:09 pm :
1.Snakes On A Plane - With all the buzz and hype this had waaayyy in advance I still can’t believe this did so poorly. It was such a fun movie to watch and Sam Jackson is the man.
2.Slither - Again, very fun movie with the comedy/horror mix on the level of Cabin Fever.
3.Serenity - fans that complain when a show is cancelled and then don’t go to see the movie have no one to blame but themselves. This movie definately deserved more attention.
4.Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - hilarious, amazing performances all around.
5.Hulk - Still think this is one of the best comic book movies ever made, next to the Blade series that is. Never understand why they want to remake it.
6.Gigli - Go ahead and laugh, I thought this movie was excellent.
50. The Other James Taylor replies at 29th July 2007, 6:12 pm :
And to the person who said Spider-Man 3 cost more than it made, check your facts einstein, it cost around $300 million and made just under $900 million. Yeah, it may have sucked but it didn’t bomb.
51. swollenpickles replies at 30th July 2007, 5:53 am :
Hot Fuzz was great, I can’t believe it didn’t do better than it did.
Transamerica was a great film also.
52. {ph[oe]nix} replies at 2nd August 2007, 5:55 am :
Shaun of The Dead cost $4,000,000 to make.
Worldwide it’s made $30,000,000, including $12,000,000 in the UK and $13,500,000 at the US box office.
So, yes, while it’s no Titanic, it cost nothing to make, and has done very well indeed with a fraction of a blockbusters marketing budget.
Hot Fuzz has so far made $78,761,971 worldwide.
The total for both movies at the box office is now $108,761,971.
So, while they may have “flopped” in the US, that’s not the case generally.
53. james replies at 6th August 2007, 11:34 pm :
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The most underrated movie ever is the Phantom of the Opera. Snotty, pretentious airhead critics did their best to bury it. It was magnificent but only broke even. I still watch it once a week.