Five Box Office Bombs from the 1980s That Are Now Cult Classics

They’re also some of my favorites

Credit: 20th Century Fox

There were some shocking box office bombs in the 1980s; for example, how did Sergio Leone’s masterpiece Once Upon a Time in America only earn $5.5 million during its theatrical run, against a budget of $30 million? Other films that were commercial failures upon release that have since been recognized as classics include Labyrinth (which lost around $12 million), Highlander (which lost $7 million), and The Right Stuff (which lost $6 million).

There are far more than these that were commercial disasters at the box office yet became cult classics over time, almost all for one reason: cable television. The ’80s were the first decade to give a large number of films a second life with cable TV, and we gobbled it up. Below are five such films, most of which even I saw for the first time on cable.

1. Big Trouble in Little China (1986). With a budget of $25 million and only an $11 million gross at the box office, this is the biggest loser on this list, financially speaking. That’s ironic, because it’s easily my favorite of the five here, an action-comedy gem with over-the-top performances, endlessly quotable dialogue, and martial arts scenes that would make the old Saturday afternoon Kung Fu features jealous. Kurt Russell is the ideal (if…