Which movies are really "surprise hits"?

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by Star Lord

Lucy(2014). Never gets talked about how that film made $458M WW. No IP, no superhero just ScarJo!

They made Lucy telekinetic and telepathic, so they made a brand new superhero in a sense. The fact that the movie was a big hit doesn't surprise me in the least.

[veritas]

Deadpool could barely get the green light and required pay cuts to secure the r rating.

I believe lion king was believed to be the b movie while Pocahontas was supposed to be the bigger success.

[Leslie Dame]

Silent Scream (1979)



From Wikipedia:

Because the film performed well during its initial release, American Cinema Releasing expanded it to 131 theaters throughout California in January 1980. The film had its Los Angeles opening on January 18, 1980. During the first week of its January 1980 release, the film grossed $1.67 million. According to the chart book by Leonidas Fragias, it was a number one film in cinemas for the weekend of 6 February 1980. It went on to become one of the most financially successful independent horror films of the 1970s, grossing $7.9 million at the box office.

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by veritas

Deadpool could barely get the green light and required pay cuts to secure the r rating.

They must have had to reshoot several scenes to get the film out of NC-17 territory. I wonder exactly how many minutes of film were excised in the process.

[MWF6425]

"Back to the Future" - Robert Zemeckis said his only hope was getting the $19 million budget back. It wound up grossing almost $389 million by the end of its run.

[DR Herbert West]

Napoleon Dynamite

[filmbuffTX]

The Greatest Showman - Musicals that weren’t from an established IP didn’t have the greatest track record at the box office.

[MWF6425]

Originally Posted by filmbuffTX

The Greatest Showman - Musicals that weren’t from an established IP didn’t have the greatest track record at the box office.

Not to mention most of it was BS - the real P.T. Barnum wasn't nearly as wholesome. That film took more liberties "The Sound of Music", which says quite a lot.

[Lianzantoro]

Someone else already said it but: Home Alone. I remember when it was released nobody would've ever guessed that it would be one of the highest grossing films of all time.
Crocodile Dundee. I believe it was the 2nd highest grossing film of 1986. Nobody (at least in America) had ever heard of Paul Hogan.
Both fairly average films in my opinion. I guess it was just a matter of timing.

[Joey9775]

Originally Posted by Star Lord

Lucy(2014). Never gets talked about how that film made $458M WW. No IP, no superhero just ScarJo!

UHM WTF? That's shocking. I'd have said 45M tops.

[Samus Aran]

Not that it wasn't expected to do well, but how about Phenomenon opening the same week as counter-programming to Independence Day doing extremely well?

[Rzzzz]

1. 28 Days Later- earned $82.8 million on a £5 million budget.

2. Smokey and the Bandit- earned over $300 million on a $4.3 million budget.

"Just two days before production was to begin, Universal sent a "hatchet man" to Atlanta to inform Needham that the budget was being trimmed by $1 million. With Reynolds' salary at $1 million, Needham was left with only $3.3 million to make the film. Needham and assistant director David Hamburger spent 30 hours revising the shooting schedule."
It seems Universal didn't have much confidence in the film.

3. Bonnie and Clyde

"At first, Warner Bros. did not promote Bonnie and Clyde for general release, but mounted only limited regional releases that seemed to confirm its misgivings about the film's lack of commercial appeal". "Much to the surprise of Warner Bros.' management, the film became a major box-office success."

4. Boondock Saints- Budget $6 million.

"Boondock Saints became a cult classic through word of mouth and its home video release, ultimately grossing $50 million in sales."

5. Carrie (1976)- $33.8 million against its $1.8 million budget.

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by Leslie Dame

By all means, Weekend Pass is quite awful. How it ended up making that much money remains a mystery.

When you hate a movie that everyone else likes, that movie's success can be a mystery that takes you years to solve. Conversely, when you like a movie that everyone else hates, that movie's failure can also be a mystery that takes you years to solve.

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by MWF6425

"Back to the Future" - Robert Zemeckis said his only hope was getting the $19 million budget back. It wound up grossing almost $389 million by the end of its run.

And its success led to two sequels, an animated TV series, a stage musical, and a motion simulator ride at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Japan.

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

5. Carrie (1976)- $33.8 million against its $1.8 million budget.

Stephen King didn't expect the book to be a success either. He wrote the first few pages and tossed rhen in the garbage can. Thankfully, his wife Tabitha fished them out and told him that he really had something and he should keep working on it. So the book opened withnthis dedication: "This is for Tabby, who got me into it-and then bailed me oiut of it."

https://www.monstercomplex.com/blog/...20Lawrence%20D.

[D00mM4r1n3]

Poor Things (2023) opened December 8 with only 9 theaters, didn't go wide until January 19th with 1,400 theaters.

[MWF6425]

Originally Posted by PhysicalMediaMaestro

And its success led to two sequels, an animated TV series, a stage musical, and a motion simulator ride at Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Universal Studios Japan.

The truth though, is that neither Zemeckis or Gale meant to create a franchise. The original film was self-contained, and the ending was "shameless cheese 101". Universal insisted on a sequel, so the creators joined to keep the studios from screwing things up.

[PhysicalMediaMaestro]

Originally Posted by steel_breeze

I would say Titanic was another. Biggest budget (up to that time) in film history; everyone thought it would be the biggest disaster since... well... the Titanic!.

They had good reason to be concerned. A lot of big-budget movies have been flopping lately. The 2025 Disney movie "Snow White" had a budget of $209,000,000 and we all know how bad that movie did.....

[milo bloom]

The first Austin Powers film was only a moderate success at the theatres but when it home video, especially as DVD was taking off, it became hugely popular. Supposedly the sequel did more in its opening weekend than the original did in its whole run at the theater.

[Samus Aran]

Originally Posted by milo bloom

The first Austin Powers film was only a moderate success at the theatres but when it home video, especially as DVD was taking off, it became hugely popular. Supposedly the sequel did more in its opening weekend than the original did in its whole run at the theater.

Friday is another franchise that owes its success to DVD.