Despite eventually becoming one of the most beloved movies ever made, The Shawshank Redemption struggled to attract audiences during its original theatrical run. It grossed only around $73 million worldwide against a roughly $25 million budget. Over time, the film gained traction, thanks to word of mouth, home video, and repeated television broadcasts. All that has helped transform the prison drama into a modern classic. | © Castle Rock Entertainment
Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 received widespread critical praise for its visuals, atmosphere, and performances at the time of its release in 2017. However, praise alone isn't enough to save a movie when it comes to financial returns. Its enormous production budget of close to $185 million made its roughly $270 million worldwide gross extremely disappointing. Fortunately, Blade Runner 2049 has since developed a cult-classic reputation among science-fiction fans. | © Columbia Pictures / Scott Free Productions
The Iron Giant is now widely regarded as one of the best animated movies of its era, but audiences largely ignored it when it hit theaters in 1999. Warner Bros. was reportedly skeptical of the film, so it didn't offer a tremendous amount of support in its marketing. Overall, The Iron Giant grossed only around $31 million worldwide during its box office run against a $70–80 million budget. | © Warner Bros. Feature Animation
Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt's science-fiction action film is, in our opinion, one of the most inventive blockbusters of the 2010s. Sadly, Edge of Tomorrow failed to become the major hit Warner Bros. hoped for. Its roughly $380 million worldwide gross was respectable but underwhelming considering its production and marketing costs, which are estimated to be around $178 million. The film's reception presents a different story, with both critics and audiences alike praising its time-loop mechanic and smart pacing. | © Warner Bros. Pictures / Village Roadshow Pictures
Robert Eggers' brutal Viking epic was praised for its atmosphere, performances, and strong commitment to historical accuracy. However, its unusual tone and explicit content limited its mainstream appeal. The Northman grossed around $70 million worldwide against a production budget of roughly $70–90 million, making it a major disappointment given its costs and ambitions. | © Focus Features / Universal Pictures
Based on the classic board game, Clue was a commercial disappointment when it arrived in theaters in 1985. It earned only around $15 million against a budget of roughly $15 million. At the time, audiences didn't initially know what to make of its unusual comedy and multiple endings. Over time, however, Clue's humor, memorable characters, and talented ensemble cast turned it into a beloved cult classic. | © Paramount Pictures
Martin Scorsese's Hugo was a beautifully crafted love letter to the history of cinema and, thanks to its stellar production, earned five Academy Awards. It also had a stacked cast, with Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, and Jude Law all making appearances in the film. Audiences, sadly, didn't respond strongly enough during its theatrical run. The adventure film grossed around $185 million worldwide against a budget of roughly $150 million. | © Paramount Pictures
The Nice Guys is a buddy comedy film that brought Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe together as a dysfunctional yet wonderful detective duo. Critics loved its humor and performances, but audiences didn't show up in the droves that were expected of it. The film was deemed to be a commercial disappointment, as it made around $62 million worldwide on a budget of roughly $50 million. It has since been redeemed in the public eye, with many appreciating the duo's chemistry and sharp wit. | © RatPac-Dune Entertainment / Silver Pictures
It's difficult to imagine now, but Scott Pilgrim vs. the World wasn't a major theatrical success when it was released in 2010. The rom-com action film made use of many visually inventive and unconventional storytelling techniques, which made it challenging for audience members to connect with it. Luckily, it's these aspects that have led the film to develop a cult following over the years. This doesn't change the fact that Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is considered a big box-office bomb. The movie earned around $49 million worldwide against a production budget of roughly $85 million. | © Universal Pictures
Serving as a prequel to the beloved Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a post-apocalyptic film starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth. Those two alone would make it seem like the movie would be a natural success, but Furiosa struggled badly at the box office. It earned around $174 million worldwide against a reported production budget approaching $170 million. This reception was quite a letdown considering that critics and audience members praised it heavily. | © Kennedy Miller Mitchell / Warner Bros. Pictures
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a slow-burning Western starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. During its theatrical run, it earned only around $15 million worldwide against a production budget of roughly $30 million. Its box-office failure didn't prevent it from becoming one of the most respected Westerns of the 21st century, though. The film has since been commended for its cinematography, performances, and haunting atmosphere. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Babylon had everything going for it. It was directed by Damien Chazelle, a filmmaker known for his work on Whiplash and La La Land. The comedy-drama also featured several high-profile actors, including Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. Unfortunately, its lengthy 3-hour runtime, explicit content, and niche subject matter made it a truly difficult sell to mainstream audiences. This led to the film performing poorly, earning roughly $64 million worldwide against a budget estimated at $78–80 million. | © Paramount Pictures
Donnie Darko initially struggled to find an audience, earning around $7.5 million worldwide against a budget of roughly $4.5 million. Its confusing marketing, dark subject matter, and release shortly after 9/11 didn't exactly help its theatrical prospects. However, the Jake Gyllenhaal-led psychological thriller found a passionate audience on DVD and eventually became a major cult classic. | © Flower Films
John Carpenter's The Thing is now regarded as one of the greatest horror and science-fiction movies ever made. Still, the fact remains that audiences weren't particularly interested when it first hit theaters. Released just weeks after E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the much darker alien film struggled to compete and earned around $20 million domestically against a budget of roughly $15 million. Its gruesome practical effects and somewhat bleak ending also earned it poor critical reception. | © Universal Pictures
Often considered one of the greatest movies ever made, Citizen Kane was hardly a box-office sensation when it was released in 1941. Orson Welles' ambitious drama earned rather modest returns and struggled to compete with more conventional Hollywood films like How Green Was My Valley. Its controversial reputation and limited distribution also worked against it, but its influence and critical standing have grown enormously over the decades. | © RKO Radio Pictures / Mercury Productions
A movie bombing at the box office doesn't necessarily mean it was bad. Sometimes a great film arrives at the wrong time, struggles with poor marketing, or just fails to connect with audiences. With that in mind, we'll be going over 15 great movies that unfortunately bombed at the box office. It's a good thing most of them are appreciated nowadays.
