25 Great Movies That Flopped

BladeRunner

It’s hard to believe that some of our most beloved movies failed to set the world on fire upon their initial release.

Many movies make hundreds of millions of dollars in their opening weekend and then quietly fade into oblivion.

Others slowly build up a cult following after a disappointing debut and are later regarded as visual masterpieces.

The following 10 movies were unappreciated in their time but have since found their place in Hollywood’s proud history.

1. Blade Runner (1982)

Incredibly, one of the greatest science fiction films ever made was actually a financial flop. It’s said that audiences wanted their universes brighter or they were simply tired of sci-fi which was coming fast and furious after the release of “Star Wars.”

Whatever the reason, critics and audiences weren’t impressed. However, the years since its original release have been very kind to the film.

Many prominent critics (including Roger Ebert) who panned it when it was originally released have long since come around to hail it as a classic in the science fiction genre.

There are also seven different versions available to watch. Blade Runner is set in a dystopian future where robots known as “replicants” are employed for menial labour on other planets.

“Replicants” are forbidden to set foot on Earth, and those that defy the rules are hunted down and terminated by “Blade Runners.” Harrison Ford plays a weary yet talented “Blade Runner” who takes on one last assignment.

The movie is based on the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” by Philip K. Dick. It has become such an important part of American movie history that the Library of Congress chose to preserve it in the National Film Registry due to it being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”