Top 10 90s Movie Flops That Got Popular Again

Producer Jon Davison told Paul Verhoeven that “Starship Troopers” would not make its money back. Well, he was right. The movie came with a very hefty budget of $100 million - an extraordinary amount not only for the time, but for an adaptation of a controversial book that was nearly forty years old. “Starship Troopers” was met with a mixed critical response and disappointing box office numbers, failing to recoup its budget and marketing costs. By all accounts, it was a flop. But over time, viewers began to re-evaluate the film, coming to appreciate the satire that was largely missed on release. It also received a second life on DVD and found political relevance after 9/11, when its themes hit a lot harder.

Considered one of the greatest sci-fi films of the ‘90s, “Dark City” has drawn widespread acclaim for its inventive storytelling, tech noir aesthetic, and brilliant production design. And to think, virtually nobody saw it upon release. It was a bit too weird for general audiences, and obstacles like studio interference and a bad release window hampered its success at the box office. It ended up grossing $27 million which, coincidentally, was exactly how much it cost to make. But following its theatrical flop, “Dark City” found new life on VHS and DVD. In fact, the DVD was one of the first to embrace special features, including a commentary track from Roger Ebert, who helped give the movie a greater appreciation among film buffs.

Few movies define the ‘90s quite like “Hocus Pocus.” But believe it or not, this film was considered a huge disappointment at the time. It opened way down in fourth place and was booted from the top ten in just two weeks. It finished with about $37 million at the domestic box office, costing Disney about $16 million. Part of its failure is due to the mediocre critical reception, and partly because of its release in July. July! For a Halloween movie! The hope was to catch kids while they were out of school for summer break, but yeah, that didn’t work! But thanks to home video and annual airings on TV every Halloween, “Hocus Pocus” eventually snowballed - or, leaf-balled? - into a holiday classic.

Coming in the summer of 1999, “Eyes Wide Shut” was a posthumous release for Stanley Kubrick, as he died the previous March. Despite Kubrick humbly calling it “the greatest contribution to the art of cinema,” it opened to a mixed response, with many calling it boring, nonsensical, and pretentious. It also underperformed relative to expectations, especially with the collective star power of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. But over time, fans and scholars began rewatching the film and analyzing it more seriously, uncovering its surrealism and deeper psychological themes. Furthermore, famous directors like Paul Thomas Anderson and Christopher Nolan have praised it, and it went on to influence things like art, fashion, and even conspiracy theories with its masked, secret society of elites.

“Twin Peaks” was a cultural phenomenon in the early ‘90s, and it was followed-up by a prequel film titled “Fire Walk With Me.” It was…not what fans were expecting. Gone was the quirky, small-town coziness of the show, replaced with a deeply troubling story about sexual abuse and missing most of its beloved characters. The film was quickly dismissed, earning scathing reviews, bombing at the box office, and according to David Lynch, even being loudly booed at Cannes. However, fans have since been able to divorce “Fire Walk With Me” from its parent show and evaluate it on its own terms, and in the process they discovered one of the director’s finest accomplishments. This is quintessential Lynch - dark, difficult, and very, very weird.

Sometimes a studio is forced to eat their own words. Paramount rushed production on “Event Horizon” so they didn’t have to compete with “Titanic,” and they later demanded extreme cuts, butchering the movie from 130 minutes to just 96. And they were not happy with the results. “Event Horizon” bombed both critically and financially, grossing just $42 million on a $60 million budget and earning a horrific D+ CinemaScore. Like many cult films, “Event Horizon” later found its dedicated audience through home video and cable TV, and people began to appreciate its unique story and aesthetic. It sold so well on DVD that Paramount inquired about restoring the deleted footage for a special director’s cut release - at which point it had already been destroyed.

Considering its enormous fame in meme culture, it’s hard to imagine a time when “Office Space” was considered irrelevant. One only needs to go back to the winter of 1999. Despite strong reviews, “Office Space” performed about as well as that printer, spending just one week in the top ten, when it debuted at number eight. It went on to gross just $12 million, which was considered a huge disappointment for both Fox and director Mike Judge. But it wasn’t long before word of mouth - and Lumbergh impressions - spread, and the movie sold like hot cakes on DVD. It soon exploded in popularity and is now seen as one of the defining workplace comedies - not to mention one of the most quotable movies ever.

In 1995, David Fincher released “Se7en,” which instantly made him a household name. It received praise for its story and famous twist ending, helped solidify Brad Pitt as a star, and grossed over $320 million. By comparison, “Fight Club” was a huge disappointment. It was a marketing misfire, with Fox leaning into the bare-knuckle fighting and making it look like a macho action movie. As such, it earned a very middling B- CinemaScore and underperformed at the box office, grossing $100 million on a $65 million budget. But once again, DVD strongly helped its reception, and the country’s post-9/11 malaise helped it resonate more strongly with a now-disillusioned populace. It is now considered one of Fincher’s finest, and easily one of his most popular.

Warner Bros. president Lorenzo di Bonaventura was irate at the failure of “The Iron Giant,” claiming that its box office performance was exactly why studios don’t make good, original movies. According to him, “Every time you do, you get slaughtered.” And “The Iron Giant” was indeed slaughtered, opening in ninth place and grossing just $31 million on a $50 million budget. The reasons for its failure are many, including poor marketing and a mistimed release window, forcing it to compete with cultural juggernauts like “The Sixth Sense” and “The Blair Witch Project.” Regardless, it was, and continues to be, a widely praised film, with many devotees calling it one of the best animated movies of all time.

The critics had it right. “The Shawshank Redemption” received excellent reviews upon release and was nominated for seven Academy Awards, making it a bonafide critical darling. But like most critical darlings, it failed to find a wide audience, grossing just $16 million on a $25 million budget. According to one funny anecdote, director Frank Darabont and producer Liz Glotzer went to the Hollywood Cinerama Dome one night to gauge the audience’s reaction, only to find the theater completely empty! Of course, no one could predict just what a behemoth “The Shawshank Redemption” would become, and it has proudly sat atop the IMDb Top 250 for many years - even beating “The Godfather.”

What other cult classics from the ‘90s do you recommend? Let us know in the comments below!