If you spend any amount of time paying attention to the slate of any movie season, you will note that every movie with a substantial fandom is given its own week to flourish and gain all the shmonies it can.
Also, if an indie production studio has a film coming out, the last thing that is wanted is to go up against another Marvel film during the same week. As we know, making a profit in Hollywood is about playing chess, not checkers. There must be a strategy with a marketing blitz–each move designed to draw new consumers each time.
The more butts in seats, the more bills in pockets. It’s that simple, but then there are those monster films people love, fandoms adore, and critics hail that never quite made it to the mountaintop. Despite all the rave chit-chat about this movie, it was never number one at the box office. No one is sure why these anomalies happen, but they do more times than not.
Maybe one of those movies is among your favorites? If not, they were certainly someone’s favorite. So, get out your shovels and start digging for those “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” films.
These are the Top 10 movies that were never number one at the box office.
Author’s Memo: These are “best films,” not necessarily “highest grossing.” For example, did you know Sing was the highest-grossing movie to never see the summit of a box office bonanza?
The animated hit brought in $270.3 million during its theatrical run, which isn’t too shabby for a kids’ movie these days. If it hit a sweet spot with families, how did it miss earning the hallowed No. 1 spot, even for a week?
These cute anthropomorphic vocalists sing more than 85 songs, ranging from the 1940s to 2016 (thank you, IMDB). It had an all-star cast, as you can see on the movie poster, but bupkis for the top spot.
Well, the week prior to Sing‘s release, there was this film that carried a small fandom called Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Yeah, Sing never had a chance. The movie performed well, but not “Star Wars” well.
While the receipts are a nice determination of how “good” a movie is, that’s not all that gets them on this Top 10 list. You know? Geek Vibes Nation’s lists have a rep to protect.
On with the show…
HM. Chicago (2002)
Chicago was a dazzling film among movies that were never number one. It kicked off the modern musical renaissance for cinephiles. This was also the film where Queen Latifah arrived in Hollywood, as the twisted awesome matron of Cook County Jail, “Mama” Morton. The film earned an impressive $170.6M at the box office, even after it earned six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. That distinction made Chicago the first musical to win Best Picture since Oliver!–and that was in 1968.
After all that, why couldn’t it reach No. 1 at the box office, let alone, more than $200M? Well, three reasons: The Lion King (the original animation), Gangs of New York, and this goofy fantasy movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
10. Casino Royale (2006)
James Bond was back after a considerable hiatus and Pierce Brosnan. But, MGM hired this blond-haired, blue-eyed, secret agent. Even the most devoted of 007 fans weren’t sure about Daniel Craig. Of course, Craig would shut everyone up within the first 15 minutes and the greatest parkour action sequence in cinematic history.
All Bond films are revered for their death-defying stunt work, so how come this new era only earned $167.5M? In November 2006, there wasn’t anything life-changing at the movies–Borat, The Santa Clause 3, and Snoop Dogg’s House of Horror (yes, that’s real–ly stupid). So, was it Thanksgiving? Nah, it was a bunch of cute penguins in Happy Feet. Not Bond’s greatest achievement.
9. The Polar Express (2004)
I know, right? This is one of the best holiday films ever made. It’s a must-see in homes around the world. But, yeah, it only reached number 2 at the box office. Not even the charm and magic of Tom Hanks via the wonder of motion picture animation could raise this film above a rather steep wall. It was November 10, 2004, so this even had Thanksgiving going for it.
But, Pixar decided a week previously that they would offer The Incredibles and its $632M of tickets sold. So, by the time, the buzz wore off with that, it was time for Spongebob Squarepants The Movie, which made $141M at the box office.
8. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
And speaking of Tom Hanks, this fantastic biopic (which also featured this Leo DiCaprio guy) is a superb movie. But not even that mega-star power got this movie to the summit of Mount Box Office! It was released on Christmas Day. Of course, people are going to the movies, following Santa doing his thing. Also, in addition to its $352.1M take, it earned two Oscars.
Well, check out the time again–December 2002. Go read the sob story on Chicago. All those obstacles apply to this movie as well. Poor Tommy Boy and Leo. Peter Jackson screamed, “You shall not pass!” And they didn’t.
7. A Beautiful Mind (2002)
This is a movie of epic storytelling about a man, John Forbes Nash, who few understood. And what he could do with his mind, no one did. He was a mesmerizing mathematician that people were introduced to through Russell Crowe‘s Oscar-winning performance (and the movie won seven others). As captivating and bold as this film was, it never had a chance to become number one at the box office.
The plan was the retroactive Oscar plan — release a movie in January but place it on the coasts in mid-December. While that worked like a charm to steamroll the competition on stage, the demolition crew on screen was another story. The week prior, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was released and owned the box office for weeks as it collected $898.8M. Whoops!
6. A Star is Born (2018)
If you are going to remake a Streisand classic, it better show up at the box office in many ways. For the 2018 version of A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga were magical. If you saw their hypnotizing duet at the 2019 Oscars, you know why the rumors of those two spooning in-between shots were wildfire.
So, after that song, that movie, and those two, how did this not get the love from the box office? It was distributed in 3,904 theaters. But, there was this other film released on 4,250 screens on the same day called Venom. Say what you will about it or its sequel but it raked in the cash. Maybe, Tom Hardy can do a duet with Michelle Williams in the third one?
5. Django: Unchained (2012)
As gifted of a storyteller as Quentin Tarantino is, the dude doesn’t always have a Brinks truck pulling up to his house. However, one of his best is Django: Unchained. Jamie Foxx, that Leo punk, and Christoph Waltz in an Oscar-winning role. It’s a classic, but not a Numero Uno in theaters.
Django got a 1-2 punch, thwarting its attempt at the box office draw during the holiday season. First, with the left hook, Monsters, Inc. And, don’t act like you didn’t see it–movies or DVD. However, with the knockout blow, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. You know, maybe it’s just Peter Jackson out to ruin all cinematic debuts?
4. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Tom Hardy took over as Mad Max, and he was remarkable. However, he wasn’t nearly as scene-stealing as Charlize Theron as Furiosa. And those two powerhouses were the salt and pepper to the man bringing the steak, Mr. George Miller! This movie was so good, but Miller is an acquired taste. For those who didn’t taste and see this one, they missed out.
So, if it was that good and more than doubling its $154M budget at the box office, what happened? Well, there was this spandex-laden group called the Avengers facing this hell-bent android looking to destroy the world. That started May 2015. Two weeks later, Mad Max drove up but he had to park out back because Ultron was still crushing it and on his way to $1.4B, so there’s that.
3. Lincoln (2012)
Steven Spielberg offered his master’s touch to a movie about one of the most influential leaders of any nation. The film was a dramatic overview of Abraham Lincoln’s final months in office as he fought to unite Congress and abolish slavery. And then, earning his third Best Actor Oscar stood Daniel Day-Lewis. It was a magnificent moment of filmmaking–but not many people saw it.
Why? Wreck-It Ralph took the kids. Skyfall got the adults. And, the end of an era as Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 got everyone else. Yeah, it’s just history. The kids will get the summary in school.
2. Interstellar (2014)
Speaking of magnificent filmmaking, Christopher Nolan doesn’t miss. Like, ever. One of the best scores ever from the maestro, Hans Zimmer, partnered again with his director buddy to make a fascinating flick. You have space travel, those two, and Matthew McConaughey. What’s not to see and enjoy?
For starters, nine other movies. There were 10 films released on November 7, 2014, among them were Big Hero 6, Jessabelle, The Theory of Everything, and The Penguins of Madagascar. The week prior was the beginning of Saw‘s horror dominance. And the week prior to that, this hitman named John came out of retirement and has been kicking ass ever since.
1. Dances With Wolves (1990)
Depending on the people you ask, this was Kevin Costner‘s benchmark–directorial debut, acting, and visionary. The film earned seven Oscars and pretty much cleaned up every award show in 1990. And, on a $15M budget, earning $424M made this film the fourth highest-grossing movie of the year. The movie is a masterpiece in cinematography, storytelling, and directing. It’s even chronicled in the National Film Registry Archives.
This movie is that good and that important. But, we are talking history. We’ve already seen the respect Lincoln drummed up at the box office, so what happened here? Well, although Dances With Wolves soared ultimately, it wasn’t initially. That mark was Child’s Play 2. Not Hollywood’s finest moment.
Since he saw ‘Dune’ in the $1 movie theater as a kid, this guy has been a lover of geek culture. It wasn’t until he became a professional copywriter, ghostwriter, and speechwriter that he began to write about it (a lot).
From the gravitas of the Sith, the genius of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, or the gluttony of today’s comic fan, SPW digs intelligent debate about entertainment. He’s also addicted to listicles, storytelling, useless trivia, and the Oxford comma. And, he prefers his puns intended.