20 Movies That Didn’t Do Well At The Box Office, But Are A Must Watch!

There are good movies that do well at the box office, then there are bad movies that do badly at the box office. Fair enough.

Then there are bad movies that do really well at the box office too.

Then there are movies that are good but bomb dismally. Sometimes they are high-concept, and sometimes the movie is way ahead of its time – the reasons why these movies are ignored, and sometimes even forgotten.

But some of these movies are gems, and we know that some person will notice the gem inside a coal mine one day, and it will get the recognition it deserves.

The movies listed below are those gems.

1. The Big Lebowski

“That rug really tied the room together.”

Everyone in this movie tied the movie together. At the first glance it looks like a slacker of a movie but has a well-rounded plot with a script most writers would kill for.

Sadly the movie did not do so well at the box office. It collected $17 million against a production budget of $15 million in the United States. But it has garnered a cult following by cinema enthusiasts for being a movie that charms your pants off with its weirdness and His Dudeness.

 

2. Andaaz Apna Apna

“Galti se mistake ho gaya!”

And just like that, this movie galti se flop ho gaya. Many of the people today wonder how Andaaz Apna Apna could have flopped. The simple explanation is that the humor at which we laugh out loud today was way beyond its years back then. No movie ever came close to replicating this gem.

Truly unique.

 

3. Drishyam

“Har pariwaar mein kuch aise raaz hote hai … jo na khule toh hi behtar hai”

It was a big surprise that this movie did badly at the box office, because technically, it lacked nothing. The acting was top-notch and so was the script. The movie was praised by the critics to be thrilling with a crisp screenplay. They also praised Tabu’s performance.

Maybe we aren’t really ready for cool movies like this one yet.

 

4. Revolver

“The greatest enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look.”

A movie with a bit of a complicated plot, Revolver fared dismally at the box office. The real stunner – it was made by Guy Ritchie, which is an explanation as to why not a lot of people liked it at the first go.

Guy Ritchie’s movies are heavily accented and feature local customs and traditions that the whole world may not be acquainted with. But when you watch it more than once, you get why the movie is a good one.

Watch it for Jason Statham, who acts well in this one.

 

5. My Wife’s Murder

The movie features fantastic acting by Anil Kapoor and Boman Irani. But hey, not a lot of people even remember its name. The story is thrilling and actually has a good plot, but somehow the movie disappeared into the oblivion.

Do watch it if you can.

 

6. Lakshya

Romi: Badal gaye ho tum. You have changed.
Karan: Tum nahi badli ho kya?

I saw Lakshya in the cinemas and was horrified to hear a few years ago from a friend that it was a flop movie. How could it be? It was as patriotic as it can be without being cheesy and also balanced the character arc and the main arc extremely well.

I am sorry to say this, but Lakshya is a movie for any age, and if people cannot appreciate it, something is wrong with the movie goers.

A lot of other Bollywood movies, which are now pretty famous actually flopped at box office. For example, Swades, Sholay, etc.

 

7. The Shawshank Redemption

“Andy Dufresne – who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.”

It needs no introduction. Stephen King wrote a gem of a story with dialogues that touch the heart in the most beautiful way. Add to this, Morgan Freeman’s hypnotizing voice for commentary, the movie is as inspiring as it can be.

It may come as a surprise to you that it was a box office dud, but it did well after they sold its TV rights. That’s when the movie brought in more $100 million.

 

8. Children Of Men

“As the sound of the playgrounds faded, the despair set in. Very odd, what happens in a world without children’s voices.”

The world cannot procreate anymore, and cannot have any more children, and somehow one woman gets pregnant – the first baby in years.

The story and acting are the stuff blockbusters are made of, but it got no traction whatsoever in the box office. Maybe people were too horrified by the premise (no children at all).

 

9. Parzania

The story revolves around a Parsi family that is stuck in the chaos of Godhra riots in Gujarat. The son of the family goes missing and the family navigates through the carnage in search for him.

It is a sensitive topic, the Godhra riots, and that is why maybe, this brilliant movie was not really well received at the box office.

 

10. Chameli

” Aapko ajib lagta hoga naa saab, matlab do mard ek saath? Jo bhi ho, jaisa bhi ho bas pyaar hona chahiye.”

Kareena Kapoor played the role of a prostitute convincingly in this beautiful movie. This movie was made when Kareena was still new in the industry and hence was a bold move. Rahul Bose also played his role perfectly, and we still wonder why this movie bombed at the box office.

 

11. Kaun

“Kaun?”

Arguably, Ram Gopal Varma’s finest film to date. This movie is perhaps the most original and awesome thriller-horror ever made by Bollywood. It also has a wicked twist in the end, and I know this because the shock I felt after I saw the twist is still embedded in my memory.

Such original twists were never expected from Bollywood movies at all. Why the hell did it flop so bad?

 

12. Black Friday

“Mai akkha Mahim jala daalega!”

Not really a technical flop, but could have done so much better. But the theme, as Parzania’s is controversial. It is based on the Mumbai bomb blasts of 1993, and its release was halted by the Bombay High Court for three years.

Rest assured, the movie is brilliant with really great performances by the Anurag Kashyap regulars.

 

13. Suleimaani Keeda

“Ask for Ganja, we’ll give you coke.”

Acclaimed by Farhan Akhtar and Roger Avary, the author of Pulp Fiction, this movie is about two writers who would do anything to get their movie script made into a Bollywood movie.

It was appreciated by almost every critic, but as it was an independent film, it lacked the promotion by a big promotion house and didn’t get the widespread popularity it should have gotten.

 

14. Blade Runner

“I’m not in the business. I am the business.”

The seminal movie that laid a path for countless science fiction movies in the years after it was released, Blade runner is a classic, high concept deal.

Based on the novel “Do Androids dream of electric sheep” this movie featured androids and the difficulty of distinguishing an android from a human if they were made really well.

It is a pity that it didn’t do well at the box office, but a movie like this cannot be bogged down with low collections. It endured and is thought to be one of the finest sci-fi movies of all time.

 

15. Sunshine

“So if you wake up one morning and it’s a particularly beautiful day, you’ll know we made it. Okay, I’m signing out.”

A completely original story, an impressive cast, and really good special effects couldn’t make this movie a hit. The story is very interesting as our Sun begins to die out, threatening the human race, and a spacecraft of astronauts take it to the sun to attempt to restart it.

It was canned disappointingly at the box office and I still don’t know why. But do see it for the visuals and for the acting. FYI, it’s made by Danny Boyle.

 

16. Moon

“I hope life on Earth is everything you remember it to be.”

Another gem of a sci-fi movie, like Sunshine above, Monn didn’t get any real traction at the box office either. The movie features Sam Rockwell, one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood and has a first rate story that unfurls slowly and satisfyingly.

This movie was made on a shoestring budget of $5 million, in an age where hundreds of millions are flushed into making senseless fantasy movies.

 

17. In Bruges

“One gay beer for my gay friend, one normal beer for me because I am normal.”

A first-rate movie that did okay at the box office. Like every movie in this list, it was horribly underappreciated when it was released, but since then has garnered a cult following.

Colin Firth is another underrated actor who doesn’t get the roles that exploit his full range of acting. This movie gave him this opportunity and he shines beautifully as the city of Bruges in the movie.

 

18. Cloud Atlas

“Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.”

The Wachowskis are notorious for making the movie so high in concept, it goes above the head of every guy in the cinema. The Matrix did it way back in 2000 and so does this movie. But when you do watch it with focus, it has a very intricate but complex plot that satisfies you when you “get” it.

The performances are pretty good, but what takes the top laurel is the makeup department. They have seamlessly made famous and recognizable faces unrecognizable with awesome makeup skills.

 

19. The Burning Train

I still remember watching this movie multiple times on Doordarshan when I was a kid. The movie is thrilling and has a very interesting plot – a train that catches fire but cannot stop.

At the time, the story was interesting and new and it featured so many stars in the cast. But surprisingly, it bombed at the box office but did go on to become a cult classic.

 

20. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro

“Draupadi teri akele ki nahi hai … hum sab shareholder hain!”

The one movie that should not have bombed. But it did. It was because the budget was too low and the producers did not have any money to promote the movie.

But as people slowly recognized its genius, the movie gained popularity through word-of-mouth and became a cult classic – just like Andaaz Apna Apna.

There is a rumor that it could be remade. One advice – DON’T.

Do you have any movies in mind that didn’t do well at the box office, but were really good?

Let us know in the comments.

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