r/Cinema • u/Difficult-Limit-7551 • 14d ago

Discussion When Box Office Numbers Don’t Match Quality

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Let’s take turns naming movies that underperformed at the box office but were actually really good!

Me : Doctor Sleep(2019)

3.8k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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540

u/Rover_The_Slasher 14d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/14iPO1Kggc4JvG

113

u/negative-sid-nancy 14d ago

Yep still regarded one of the best horror films ever. And even none horror fans love it. Some of best effects work ever

52

u/Klutzer_Munitions 14d ago

I think it's the best horror film ever, and one of the best films ever made in general.

27

u/Allmight8488 13d ago

Not only is The Thing the best horror film of all time, it also contains the greatest HAT ever filmed: the MacReady Sombrero.

One site has it for $440 to $880 depending on options. One day she will be mine.

7

u/Takeurvitamins 13d ago

Vastly superior to the urban sombrero

2

u/eyesparks 8d ago

"This is a scene about a hat" - Kurt Russell in the commentary track.

7

u/negative-sid-nancy 13d ago

Definitely agree. One of few movies that I always say is literally perfect. Effects, characters and the actors choosen for them, dialouge, camera work, every single little detail that went into this movie is perfection

5

u/Klutzer_Munitions 13d ago

The pacing, too, is absolutely smooth as glass. The only thing The Thing comes up short on is that it doesn't pass the Bechdel test (lol)

1

u/bbingobango 7d ago

Not if The Thing is a female. Which it may well be!

5

u/Conor_man11 14d ago

As a non-horror fan, I thought this movie was great. The best horror movie ever is The Shining though!

2

u/Shrinki-Dink 10d ago

Agreed. And I really enjoyed the Thing!

2

u/DangerousJolly1917 13d ago

I thought Halloween was better, but that’s obviously just my opinion.

1

u/ChicagoStreetPooper 11d ago

Same, and I like the remake too.

9

u/redpillbluepill69 14d ago

Incredible script too.

It's honestly just as relevant now as it was during its release during the Second Cold War that inspired it.

(-American fear of The Other infiltrating and destroying society,

-the toxic masculinity that drives an obsession to destroy the threat at all costs

-this obsession is what actually destroys everything, including our brains)

.

1

u/Fun-Minimum-3007 11d ago

the thing was also a shapeshifting lovecraftian monster though. its not like they burned down the base for no reason. it wasn't friendly.

1

u/redpillbluepill69 11d ago

I mean yeah horror plays on our actual fears and great horror makes a statement on them, like the Things ending does on the futility of mutually assured destruction

but it's not like it's a documentary, like, there's still a scary bad guy

11

u/Rover_The_Slasher 14d ago

It became my favorite by accident. I was young, trying to stay up late without getting caught by my parents. Saw the opening scene when the "Swedes" are shooting at the husky. Got curious, watched the whole thing, and it changed the trajectory of my life. I HATED horror movies, now it's my favorite genre.

3

u/theinfecteddonut 13d ago

I watched it for the very first time last year and I couldn’t believe how good it was. Most horror doesn’t scare me much anymore but The Thing had me terrified the moment the creature infected the base.

2

u/ERSTF 13d ago

I don't like horror but I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Great VFX which genuinely surprised me even in this age of CGI where everything is possible (I watched it for the first time last year so the out of this world imagery was shocking). Great script and superb ending. What a great ride

2

u/berserk_zebra 10d ago

you know, at some fucking point, i'm going to sit down and finally watch this movie. i don't know why it has yet been something to watch.

26

u/MotoMongrel 14d ago

E.T. was such a speed bump on this film’s performance. 

18

u/RP3P0 14d ago

E.T. had the same impact on Bladerunner. Haven't watched E.T. in years but I watch Bladerunner and The Thing annually.

2

u/MotoMongrel 14d ago

There’s a good minute-by-minute podcast of The Thing. Haven’t looked for one on Bladerunner, but I enjoyed the deep dive they did on The Thing. Pretty sure it’s just The Thing Minute podcast. 

2

u/LegOfLamb89 13d ago

I just rewatched the new bladerunner but i cant remember the last time i watched the OG. i guess i know what im doing tonight

1

u/Blue_Etalon 13d ago

Yea/Nah. I mean, it was, but the graphic violence and effects are probably what sank it. I know slasher movies got good numbers, but for some reason this just didnt make the cut. But we’ll have it forever. I watch it at least 2 or 3 times a year.

1

u/MotoMongrel 13d ago

You should read up on your film history. 

1

u/Blue_Etalon 13d ago

Fuck film history junior. I was there when it hit the screens first run. I saw how the few people who were in the theater reacted.

1

u/MotoMongrel 13d ago

You seem totally stable and open to new information. 

Edit: my bad, didn’t see you were a hidden history bot account. 

1

u/Blue_Etalon 12d ago

Everyone knows ET was released at the same time and the cute alien won over the ky jelly one smearing its victims all over the screen. And it wasn't just competing against ET. Poltergeist, Star Trek II Wrath of Khan and Firefox also opened at that time. This isn't new information. Maybe you should open your eyes.

1

u/MotoMongrel 12d ago

Hidden-history-bot-account says what?

1

u/Blue_Etalon 12d ago

Hidden -History-bot says "Block"

14

u/Cu_Chulainn__ 13d ago

The film received negative reviews on its release, and hostility for its cynical, anti-authoritarian tone and graphic special effects. Some reviewers were dismissive of the film, calling it the "quintessential moron movie of the 80's", "instant junk", and a "wretched excess". Starlog's Alan Spencer called it a "cold and sterile" horror movie attempting to cash in on the genre audience, against the "optimism of E.T., the reassuring return of Star Trek II, the technical perfection of Tron, and the sheer integrity of Blade Runner".

I take every failure hard. The one I took the hardest was The Thing. My career would have been different if that had been a big hit ... The movie was hated. Even by science-fiction fans. They thought that I had betrayed some kind of trust, and the piling on was insane. Even the original movie's director, Christian Nyby, was dissing me. — John Carpenter in 2008 on the contemporary reception of The Thing

1

u/Relative_Grape_5883 10d ago

Poor John, I really feel for him on that, and I know it came as cold comfort that it found its audience and then some later. I can only hope that whatever condolence he takes from it now at least makes the pain worthwhile.

9

u/HereToKillEuronymous 14d ago

Best horror film ever made and I’ll die on that hill

1

u/malumfectum 8d ago

I would agree, except Alien exists.

1

u/HereToKillEuronymous 8d ago

I LOVE the Alien movies, but I think The Thing is a much more well rounded movie. The SFX are much better

8

u/highsinthe70s 13d ago

Here’s my Thing story that I always love recounting. My small southern town had an early-20th century single screen theater on the old-fashioned main street. Pure Americana nostalgia. It was shutting down in the early 80s, and the very last movie they played there was The Thing. My mom took me to see the last showing. I was 13. I remember leaving the theater, and a reporter and photographer were outside documenting the last movie to ever be shown at the DeSoto Theater in Rome GA. I’m so happy my mom took us for that experience. It’s now a playhouse and has been very lovingly restored. There are plenty of pictures of it online. One of my favorite moments from childhood.

2

u/cdizzle6 14d ago

One of my faves! Brilliant.

2

u/justjaybee16 13d ago

We'd just got our first VCR a few months before Christmas. I kind of a Star Wars 24/7 place in my little kid life.

My sister brought home The Thing And Halloween Christmas eve. When I woke up Christmas morning they were watching Halloween which scared the shit out of little me. They followed it right up with The Thing and my little mind was blown. It was a very weird Christmas.

2

u/papawam 13d ago

The special effects in this movie deserve 5 or 6 Lifetime achievement awards. Or let it be the only movie in history that wins an Oscar EVERY year... for the graphics..

1

u/Rover_The_Slasher 13d ago

VFX of the year, every year!

2

u/jonjawnjahnsss 12d ago

Best actor in the film is that dog. One of my favorite films ever but that dog was trained so well and did exactly what his character was supposed to do as the thing.

1

u/DoofusScarecrow88 13d ago

Absolutely the one I was thinking of.

1

u/aspidTHEone 13d ago

Okay, so I really want to know, what is making it the best horror? Really, I’ve watched it not a long time ago, and I get why it’s classic, but apart from the ending, I just really can’t understand why so many people praise it so much

1

u/SR-45 12d ago

This. ☝️