Top 10 Movie Flops From The 80s That Are LOVED Now

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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.

Transcript

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.

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