If there is one thing Hollywood likes, it's a comeback story, and no one seems more poised for that right now than writer-director Troy Duffy. More than a decade ago, he was set to be Hollywood's next "It Boy" with his script for The Boondock Saints. Yet, instead of being sainted at the box office, Duffy wound up angering the Weinsteins (in all fairness, not a hard thing to do) and was demonized in the 2004 documentary Overnight.
Duffy's movie also suffered from unfortunate timing. On the heels of the 1999 Columbine massacre, distributors balked at the movie's excessive violence — not to mention the all-too-similar clothing choices the McManus brothers shared with the Columbine shooters. The movie opened in a paltry five theaters on January 21, 2000.
Politics may have sunk the movie initially, but word of mouth and DVD sales proved co-star Billy Connolly right when he said, "The kids will find it! It's rock 'n' roll!" Now the saints have been resurrected in a sequel, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. In honor of this achievement, here are 6 movies so popular now you might be surprised to hear they were considered box-office bombs.
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Office Space (1999)
Mike Judge was nearly run out of town when this spot-on depiction of cubicle life failed to find an audience at the Cineplex. Fortunately, repeated airings on Comedy Central brought this now-classic to everyone's attention. Um, yeaaaaaah.
Production Budget:
$10 million
Box-Office Gross:
$10.8 million
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Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
After spawning two huge sequels, it's hard to remember the initial offering was a box-office disappointment. Only after the movie sold well on DVD did studio execs realize they had missed an opportunity by not promoting the movie better. Did they learn their lesson? Yeah, baby!!
Production Budget:
$16.5 million
Box-Office Gross:
$53.8 million
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