I was thinking the other day of "Sliding Doors" as a cultural reference. The movie got mediocre reviews and earned less than $12M at the North American box office. And yet everyone who was around in 1998 knows what it's about, and how to apply the metaphor to other circumstances. It's hard to think of another movie whose plot has become a common metaphor that so few people actually saw!
I think Slacker might be another example; it made a very small impact on the art-house scene and home video, but press just picked up on it because of the title, at a time when Boomers were writing negative stories about young people.
The Judge movies bombed at the theater (Idiocracy didn't even get released by the studio), but they were huge hits on home video at least.
I was thinking the other day of "Sliding Doors" as a cultural reference. The movie got mediocre reviews and earned less than $12M at the North American box office. And yet everyone who was around in 1998 knows what it's about, and how to apply the metaphor to other circumstances. It's hard to think of another movie whose plot has become a common metaphor that so few people actually saw!
Hmm. Good point. I can think of a few like that - Office Space, and Idiocracy, from Mike Judge. Also Catch 22, Manchurian Candidate?
I think Slacker might be another example; it made a very small impact on the art-house scene and home video, but press just picked up on it because of the title, at a time when Boomers were writing negative stories about young people.
The Judge movies bombed at the theater (Idiocracy didn't even get released by the studio), but they were huge hits on home video at least.