Maxwell Kamlongera

10 Cult Classics that Bombed at the Box Office Maxwell Kamlongera We all know a person who has watched a movie obsessively and knows almost every scene and line to that movie with near-perfect recollection, and sometimes we might even be that individual. What is not common knowledge, though, is that some of these movies with “cult classic” status were not always loved by the vast majority. For a movie to be considered a cult classic it must have a dedicated fanbase that view the movie regularly and celebrate it, and the movie must be different to the mainstream. Here are 10 such movies that bombed at the box office. 10. The Wizard of Oz (1939) According to the Library of Congress The Wizard of Oz is the most watched film ever, which would make its placement on a list about box office flops all the more perplexing. However, in 1939 the movie cost approximately $2.7 million to make, and it made back $3 million. Film studio MetroGoldwyn-Mayer (MGM) made a further loss of $1.1 million from the pioneering technology they insisted on using to make a color film. Commercially the movie flopped, but critically it was a hit; it went on to be nominated for six Academy Awards, and it won two (Best Original Song and Best Original Score). Along its lifetime it began to catch on with audiences and it made a lot of its money back through re-releases and television screenings. To top it all off, in 1989 it was among the first 25 movies to be inducted into the National Film Registry. 9. Citizen Kane (1941) Citizen Kane is a movie co-written, directed, produced and performed by Orson Welles. Budgeted at around $800,000 the motion picture had a rocky release that caused it to be a commercial failure due to media tycoon William Randolph Hearst trying to disrupt its production because of the film’s perceived fictionalization of his life. The movie went on to be nominated for nine Academy Awards and won one (Best Original Screenplay) and like a few other flicks on this list it took a couple of years before opinions began to turn around favorably for the movie. Today it is widely regarded as one of the best movies ever PAGE 1 of 7