Time really can change your cinematic perspective. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the best ‘80s box office bombs that have since garnered a passionate fanbase.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best 80's box office
00:13bombs that have since garnered a passionate fanbase.
00:17Minor spoilers ahead.
00:26Number 10.
00:27Dragon Slayer.
00:28Fantasy is tricky to pull off, but one fantasy film that should have gotten more love is
00:43this one directed by Matthew Robbins.
00:46Dragon Slayer is set in a medieval fantasy kingdom that sacrifices a virgin by lottery
00:52to a ferocious dragon.
01:04It's up to young wizard apprentice Galen and Valerian, a young girl disguised as a man,
01:10to end the dragon's reign of terror.
01:13Although critics were impressed by the special effects and dark themes, audiences were not
01:18as enthused.
01:19In time, however, it became a cult film, proving that a really good sword and sorcery flick
01:24is always appreciated… eventually.
01:42Number 9.
01:43Big Trouble in Little China.
01:50It's martial arts and John Carpenter.
01:53What else could you possibly need?
01:55This fantasy action film may have had a tough time at the box office, but Big Trouble in
02:00Little China is a wild adventure from start to finish.
02:04The film follows two friends, truck driver Jack Burton and Wang Chi, as they descend
02:09into Chinatown's underworld to rescue Wang Chi's fiancée.
02:13There, they must contend with gangs, fierce warriors and ancient curses.
02:26Although Carpenter was disappointed in the low box office reception and mixed reviews,
02:31Big Trouble eventually found new life on TV and home video.
02:34The result is a fun, quirky film with undoubtedly wussia influences.
02:45Number 8.
02:46Once Upon a Time in America.
02:55Sometimes great films can be ruined by poor editing.
02:58That's the case with this Italian-American gangster film directed by Sergio Leone.
03:03The movie follows the rise of two Jewish-American mobsters, David Noodles Aronson and Maximilian
03:09Berkovits.
03:11Based on a novel by Harry Gray, it's an epic tale of friendship, crime, love and betrayal.
03:20While the original, almost four-hour long version that premiered at Cannes received
03:24raves, an edited down two-hour plus version released in regular theaters was a complete
03:30flop.
03:31Some of the violence proved so controversial, these scenes were censored.
03:38But epics are epics, and Leone's operatic Once Upon a Time proves that some stories
03:44need the extra length.
03:46Number 7.
03:48The Black Cauldron
04:00Leone's failures are rarely this mind-boggling or this risky.
04:05Based on the novels by Lloyd Alexander, the film follows young Tauren as he attempts to
04:09stop the evil Horned King from conquering the world by taking possession of the titular
04:14Black Cauldron, full of ancient magic.
04:18Tauren succeeds with the help of his friends and Gergi, a creature who sacrifices himself
04:23to defeat the Cauldron.
04:33The film's darkness and lurid scenes scared children when it came out, making this a hard
04:39sell to audiences.
04:40Still, the movie's beautiful animation, as well as its rich and charming rendition of
04:45Welsh mythology, is a clear winner.
05:00Number 6.
05:01The Monster Squad
05:13With Count Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the mummy teaming up, how did this film
05:19flop?
05:20This horror-comedy follows a group of kids as they try to stop Count Dracula and his
05:24fellow monsters from taking over the world.
05:36The kids eventually get their hands on a magical amulet, which opens a portal through which
05:41the monsters are safely cast into limbo.
05:44Unfortunately, audiences felt the Ghostbusters-for-kids vibes were unwarranted, and it underperformed
05:51the box office.
05:52In hindsight, however, the monster-versus-monster aspect of the film is loads of fun, and is
05:58just as good as any 80s tween adventure.
06:04Number 5.
06:06Highlander
06:17We can now see how this unique premise may have gotten lost in translation.
06:21Highlander follows Scottish Highlander, Connor MacLeod, who discovers he is part of a race
06:26of immortals after surviving a deathly duel.
06:30Played by Ramirez, a Spanish-Egyptian swordsman played by Sean Connery, MacLeod must fight
06:35against the Kurgan, a fellow immortal, in a gathering in New York City in 1985.
06:52While the film charmed European audiences, US audiences found it incomprehensible due
06:57to its dense lore.
06:59Most people now praise Highlander's excellent fight scenes, good performances, and epic
07:03score.
07:10Number 4.
07:12Heathers
07:19Step into this candy store.
07:21Before Clueless and Mean Girls, there was Heathers.
07:24This teen film follows Veronica Sawyer as she gets involved with a clique of mean girls,
07:29all named Heather.
07:43Unlike the cheery teen comedies of the time, Heathers is a dark take on high school, as
07:48Veronica's quest for revenge against Heather Chandler ends in her death.
07:53What follows is even more black comedy as Veronica and her boyfriend-accomplice J.D.
07:57obtain a high body count.
07:59Perhaps all that blood and gore was too much for American audiences, for the film bombed
08:05at the box office.
08:06Heathers eventually found recognition and appreciation, even becoming adapted into a
08:11popular stage musical by the same name.
08:21Number 3.
08:22The Thing
08:27Yet another John Carpenter-directed misfire that proved to have staying power.
08:32It's hard to believe this seminal sci-fi horror classic did so poorly with audiences and critics
08:37at the time.
08:43Based on the novella, which had already been filmed in the 1950s, The Thing concerns a
08:49chameleon-like alien creature that wreaks havoc at a base in Antarctica.
08:54American pilot R.J. McCready leads the hunt for this creature, eventually destroying both
08:58it and the station.
09:00The Thing's dark themes and ambiguous ending were unfortunately not to audiences' tastes.
09:06Having to compete with Steven Spielberg's classic E.T., The Extraterrestrial, was also
09:11tough.
09:12Today, it's considered one of the most influential horror films of all time.
09:16Now that's no small thing.
09:23Number 2.
09:25Blade Runner
09:32Science fiction can be a tricky genre.
09:35Even so, Blade Runner may be the best sci-fi film to have bombed in the theaters.
09:40Directed by Ridley Scott, the film follows the titular Blade Runner, Rick Deckard, whose
09:44job is to terminate replicants, humanoid androids gone rogue.
09:56A foundational cyberpunk work, Blade Runner delves into themes about the nature of humanity,
10:02morality, and dystopian bureaucracies.
10:05The film received mixed critical reviews for its slow pacing and lack of action, although
10:09its cinematography was praised.
10:12Blade Runner nevertheless won a slew of awards and is now considered one of the greatest
10:16films in its genre.
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10:51Number 1.
10:52Brazil It doesn't seem possible that such an arthouse
11:02dystopian film could have been conceived by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame.
11:08He is indeed responsible for this satirical film about a bureaucratic authoritarian government.
11:13The movie follows dissatisfied government employee Sam Lowry, who tries to escape his
11:18polluted brutal future world through daydreams.
11:21A minor bureaucratic error sets off a chain of events that leads to Sam's arrest.
11:34Interrogated unto insanity, Sam disappears into his pleasant fantasies, accompanied by
11:40the beautiful strains of Ari Barroso's classic, Aquarela do Brasil.
11:45Darkly funny and serious in turns, the film could not please general audiences with its
11:50downer ending.
11:52But Gilliam's vision of totalitarian reality versus idealistic fantasy is more relevant
11:57than ever.
12:08Which other 80's box office bomb-turned-firework made you want to soar the skies?
12:13Let us know in the comments down below.