These 51 Box Office Hits Faded Into Obscurity A Little Bit Too Soon

 

 

While the poetry attributed to Homer may be timeless, no one will necessarily agree that this nearly three-hour-long Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom production is the best adaptation of Homer's work. Although there are a few excellent performances and solid action set pieces, The Iliad has never been nearly so uninteresting.

 

 

Sometimes, the story might fade out of our minds, but the memes will always survive, no matter how much we strive to forget them. We’re the Millers is the perfect example of this phenomenon. While it did earn $270 million at the box office and became a subject of a couple of memes, the story didn’t stay long in the mind of many watchers.

 

 

Having earned $1.028 billion at the box office, Finding Dory may have been the third-highest-grossing movie of 2016, but other Pixar movies seem more remembered and discussed. It is even more puzzling, given how highly regarded Finding Nemo continues to be. Either way, the film is a must-see.

 

 

Green Book is a movie that did quite well at the award ceremonies and the box office, earning an impressive $321.8 million. The only problem the movie had was that it had to compete with other great works of art. While it did win the Best Picture Oscar, A Star Is Born and Black Panther got more attention from the audience.

 

 

Hancock might not be on your most-watched superhero movie list. Hancock, which debuted just a few months after Iron Man, generated more money at the box office. Yet Will Smith's intriguing but unsatisfying superhero film has been overshadowed by more than a decade's worth of subsequent entries.

 

 

When it was released, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland caused a storm and showed that the director was still more than capable of crafting a blockbuster hit. But, a more-of-the-same sequel suffered severe financial losses, and the audience’s interest in the movie faded away more quickly than expected.

 

Although Super 8 made $260 million worldwide on a $50 million budget, J.J. Abrams thought it would connect with audiences in the same way as classic Steven Spielberg movies like E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. However, Super 8 ultimately performed more like The Terminal and The BFG.

 

 

Dreamworks' adaptation of a comic strip had an all-star cast and received positive reviews from audiences. However, the fact that it failed to spawn a sequel or any significant spin-off has consigned this animated film to the depths of obscurity. It made $336 million worldwide against an $80 million budget.

 

 

While Mel Gibson’s character might have asked the question of What Women Want in the movie, outside of it, the audience asked themselves — what is so memorable about the film they just saw? The movie was able to dominate at the box office, earning an impressive $374.1 million, but it did not win against the pressure of time.

 

 

Disaster films are frequently products of their period, forgotten in favor of the next star-studded Hollywood disaster. The underlying material for Roland Emmerich's climate change disaster film is unusual: a mostly fictional, partially factual book written by paranormal radio personality Art Bell. The movie did well, earning $552.6 million.

 

 

Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, and Dan Brown worked together to create a three-movie franchise. The second movie of this series was Angels & Demons. While it grossed $485.9 million at the box office, it was the complete opposite, with ratings from the critics and reception from the audience. It is one of the most forgettable sequels ever.

 

 

Runaway Bride acts like a reminder of the more famous Julia Roberts and Richard Gere pairing in Pretty Woman. Runaway Bride did earn the studio a whopping $309.5 million. When it came to memorability, it couldn’t rival the more famous and better-written Pretty Woman. You can't defeat a classic.

 

This movie might have stolen the attention at the box office, but it couldn't do so with the audience's memories. Identity Thief was a hit in Melissa McCarthy's filmography, garnering an impressive $174 million, but it might be one of the most forgettable movies she was in. It's not a road trip that anyone remembers today.

 

 

Mask, which many people consider to be one of Peter Bogdanovich's finest films, featured a fantastic ensemble that included actors like Cher and Sam Elliott. Regrettably, the movie hasn't survived into the streaming era despite a respectable return and tremendous critical acclaim. The main reason is presumably the film's limited distribution.

 

 

Star Trek Beyond made $343.5 million worldwide, roughly on par with its predecessors. However, the franchise enraged a sizable portion of its audience with public lies about Star Trek Into Darkness and J.J. Abrams' departure from the director's chair, making this movie the underdog of the trilogy.

 

 

The movie was such a box office hit that it gave rise to a brief sitcom that couldn't equal the comedic rhythm of Private Benjamin. Although the performance of Goldie Hawn got universal praise from everyone, the movie got eclipsed by other comedies of that period, like History of the World, Part I.

 

 

The comedic team of Wilder and Pryor is one for the ages, and the film showcases each of their strengths to the fullest. Stir Crazy was one of the highest-grossing films despite having a small budget. It made an astounding amount of money. Yet, it created a tremendous impression upon its first release but faded into obscurity after some time.

 

 

Hayley Mills, the daughter of Sir John Mills, produced six films for Disney before this screwball comic thriller. A significant cast included Roddy McDowall, Ed Wynn, and Elsa Lanchester. Mills was "the" celebrity in 1965 and undoubtedly contributed to the movie earning $28.1 million at the box office.

 

 

When you put Danny DeVito in your movie, you know it's going to be great. He brought the needed star power into the film, helping it earn $71.6 million at the box office. Since Ruthless People is a dark comedy distributed through a Disney-affiliated company, it wasn't on the streaming menu.

 

 

Based on mistaken theories about impending Mayan doom, memorability wasn't in anyone's mind when 2012 got produced. But it's unlikely that anyone was severely disappointed, as any film that predicts the end of the world in a particular year isn't going to age like wine. When it mattered, the film did well, earning $791.2 million.