With tight deadlines, complex technologies, and an overall unpredictability, the film industry serves as the textbook example of Murphy’s Law – “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Because of this, some films seem to miss the mark when it comes to their box office performance. A concept that is a sure success might stumble at the finish line, leading to middling reviews and a negative gross income. However, that all changed with the rise of DVDs and other forms of physical media, which fundamentally reconstructed Hollywood economics and gave some films the second chance they deserved. While there are many ways to measure if a movie ‘flopped’ or not, I would like to highlight four films in particular that I believe are iconic but struggled to find an audience in their original box office runs.
The Thing (1982)
Director: John Carpenter
Synopsis: A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Box Office Performance and Rise to Icon Status: While not a complete bomb in the box office, the original release of John Carpenter’s The Thing definitely underperformed to say the least, grossing roughly $19.8 million domestically against a $15 million budget. However, after factoring things like marketing costs, the film ended up losing money. It was also very negatively received by critics at the time due to the film’s bleak, nihilistic tone and obsessive amounts of gore. This was in contrast to other summer films releasing around the same time like Poltergeist and, most notably, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Despite the big names attached to this film, the stiff summer competition, along with the total shift in tone from its competitors, led to The Thing’s underwhelming performance. However, the rise of VHS and LaserDisc technology gave the film a second life. It is now widely considered a sci-fi body horror masterpiece that was insanely ahead of its time. As Hollywood shifted toward the use of digital effects in the early 90s and 2000s, many looked back fondly at The Thing and its masterfully done practical effects that still hold up to this day. Personally, this is one of my favorite horror films of all time, and I highly recommend it. The Thing (1982) – IMDb
“Somebody in this camp ain’t what he appears to be. Right now that may be one or two of us. By spring, it could be all of us.”
Blade Runner (1982)
Director: Ridley Scott
Synopsis: In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is called out of retirement to terminate four replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Box Office Performance and Rise to Icon Status: The original Blade Runner by Ridley Scott was another victim of Spielberg’s complete domination of the 1982 summer box office with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Grossing roughly $41.7 million on a $30 million budget, the film was not able to cover its marketing costs, which was ironic since part of the reason why it did not meet expectations was because of its misleading marketing. The studio decided to use the popularity of Harrison Ford, coming off his previous roles as both Han Solo in Star Wars and Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, to sell Blade Runner as a fast-paced action-packed sci-fi blockbuster in trailers via fast paced edits and action shots. Going in with these expectations, test screening audiences were confused, complaining that the movie was boring and depressing. Due to the unexpected backlash from test audiences, the studio made multiple ‘panic edits’ for the theatrical release, including the infamous Harrison Ford voiceover which was their attempt at making the film more conventional by forcing a happy ending. It was not until the Director’s Cut and Final Cut versions of Blade Runner were released on DVD that the film found its true identity: the slow-burning philosophical neo-noir cyberpunk story that defines the modern cyberpunk aesthetic. Blade Runner (1982) – IMDb
“…All those moments will be lost in time… like tears in rain… Time to die.”
Office Space (1999)
Director: Mike Judge
Synopsis: A depressed white-collar worker tries hypnotherapy, only to find himself in a perpetual state of devil-may-care bliss that prompts him to start living by his own rules, and hatch a hapless attempt to embezzle money from his soul-killing employers.
Box Office Performance and Rise to Icon Status: From the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head and co-creator of King of the Hill, Mike Judge’s Office Space struggled to find an audience in the beginning. It grossed only around $12.2 million worldwide, barely covering its $10 million dollar production budget. The film was quickly pulled from theaters by 20th Century Fox after declining sales post opening weekend. 20th Century Fox also had difficulties with advertising the film, wondering how they could market a monotone satire comedy. They eventually came up with a lackluster marketing stunt and the film’s onesheet poster depicting an office worker covered in Post-it notes, which Mike Judge famously disliked. However, the movie slowly found its audience with a combination of heavy air time on Comedy Central and its VHS release. Many, including myself, fell in love with the film’s take on dead end jobs and mind numbing office work, coining terms like ‘flair’ and ‘TPS reports’. While comedy itself is subjective, I highly recommend everyone watch this film at least once in their lifetime. Office Space (1999) – IMDb
“Michael, I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything that I thought it could be.”
The Room (2003)
Director: Tommy Wiseau
Synopsis: Johnny (Tommy Wiseau) is a successful banker with great respect for and dedication to the people in his life, especially his future wife Lisa (Juliette Danielle). The happy-go-lucky guy sees his world being torn apart when his friends begin to betray him one-by-one.
Box Office Performance and Rise to Icon Status: By all meanings of the word, this is certainly a movie. To be honest, I’m sure almost everyone at one point or another has at least heard of The Room, or about its creator, Tommy Wiseau. If this is your first time hearing about it, I am honored to be the one to tell you about this film. The Room was originally a play written by Tommy Wiseau in 2001. However, no one wanted to publish it, leading Tommy Wiseau to adapt his play into a film. He produced the whole thing himself so he could have full creative freedom of the project. During its original two week theatrical run, The Room earned an estimated $1,900 before it was pulled from theaters. With a budget of around $6 million, it is an understatement to say that it failed miserably. It was also regarded as one of the worst films ever made, sitting at a solid 3.6/10 on IMDb today. However, with multiple late night private screenings, people decided to look at it through a different lens. The dialogue and overall production of this film is so terrible, that this dark drama became a dark comedy. It is accidentally hilarious! From then on, every showing of The Room was treated like an event. Traditions and rituals were born: throwing plastic spoons at the screen, passing a football around the theater during the extremely awkward rooftop scene, and so many more. The internet also had a field day with this film, raising it into cult status and having the film gross roughly $5.3 million worldwide over the years. If you ever get the chance to, please watch this film with likeminded friends. You will regret it, but you will never experience anything like it. The Room (2003) – IMDb
“I’m tired, I’m wasted… I love you, darling!”
Fast forward to today, we are seeing a massive modern resurgence in physical media. Vinyls, Blu-Rays, and DVDs are all coming back into style in a form of rebellion to the modern subscription-based streaming service culture. Consumers do not have to worry about something being taken off of services with a physical piece of media. It allows for complete control and ownership with no strings attached. They also serve as an escape from the endless scrolling of social media, letting us, as consumers, have a conscious choice in the media we consume. But it is also through this preservation of a craft that some pieces, like the ones mentioned above, get a second chance at life. Those films that were ahead of their time, instead of fading into obscurity, were given the opportunity to find their audience and truly get the appreciation they deserve. These films teach us about the true art of cinema. They break norms and try new things. Although they might fail commercially, they leave a lasting impact. It’s films like these that are worth watching over and over again.
Evan Bowlen is an undergraduate student assistant in Media Services.
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