It’s difficult to think about comic book movie adaptations bombing at the box office since the genre is just so popular these days. That’s because superhero films are typically big hits, and busts are much rarer. When Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Green Lantern, Justice League,The Flash, and others fail, it feels more like a surprise than anything else. Before the rise of the genre, comic book movies tended to miss at the worldwide box office. A lot of those films have been forgotten over time, yet some have gotten newfound life. The films have become beloved for various things. In a few cases, people have come to enjoy the movie’s goofy nature, while in other cases, a new appreciation for an actor’s career has led the film to be reevaluated; yet they’re all cult classics for a reason.
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Among these comic book adaptations that became popular after they were initially released is the very first theatrical movie from Marvel. The film was panned upon release and mostly forgotten about, yet new life was breathed into it thanks to a cameo in a later Marvel film.
4) Howard The Duck
That first theatrical release from Marvel was Howard the Duck (1986). It’s certainly an odd choice to be the inaugural, though the fact that it was initially meant to be an animated film makes more sense. It ended up moving to live action, and on a budget of around $37 million, the film only grossed about $37.9 million. On top of that, critics were harsh on Howard the Duck, as the humor, tone, and the appearance of the titular character were all panned. Some people even consider it one of the worst films ever made.
However, Howard the Duck found a cult audience who appreciate the goofiness of it all. Even Howard’s look has become popular thanks to its practical nature over the overabundance of CGI in modern films. Howard’s popularity led to a cameo appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy, and he even showed up in the background in Avengers: Endgame, which only added to the film’s cult status.
3) Barb Wire
A lot of people likely don’t even know that Barb Wire was based on a comic book series. The character from Dark Horse Comics was brought to the big screen despite not being a massive hit on the page, and received a boost of star power from Pamela Anderson in the lead role. The actress was hot off the heels of Baywatch and was one of the most famous people in the world. Unfortunately, Barb Wire still flopped, and only brought in around $3 million on a budget of less than $10 million.
Critics also hated the film, and it picked up several nominations at the Golden Raspberry Awards. Like Howard the Duck, the cheesiness of the project has helped it attain cult status, and people love that it’s unapologetically a B-movie. Pamela Anderson has also gained a new level of appreciation from audiences in recent years, allowing folks to look back on her performance and the movie as a whole as enjoyable.
2) Flash Gordon
Even for the ’80s, Flash Gordon (1980) looked kind of corny on the surface – like it was trying to be Star Wars and did a bad job at it (George Lucas, ironically enough, tried to make this movie and got denied, which led him to create Star Wars). Audiences didn’t come to see this, resulting in just around $27 million made at the box office on a budget of about the same total. The story sees a quarterback and his allies travel to another planet in an effort to overthrow a tyrannical leader who wants to destroy Earth.
This is a case where a flop was actually a success with critics. They appreciated the fun nature of the film, even if nobody came to see it. Since then, Flash Gordon has flourished as a cult classic, including getting referenced in everything from Ted to Avengers: Infinity War. There’s even a documentary covering its cult status, including interviews with the likes of Stan Lee and Robert Rodriguez.
1) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
It’s fitting that Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) became a cult hit since director Edgar Wright noted that Flash Gordon was influential on the film’s aesthetic. The film plays out like a cross between an actual comic book and a video game, complete with the use of onomatopoeia and on-screen health bars, among other things. The comic was well-received and this adaptation was liked by critics, though it struggled at the box office. On a budget of somewhere between $60 million and $85 million, it raked in a mere $47 million.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World has only grown in popularity over the past 15 or so years. Fans love how true to the page it feels, and it has a loaded cast of future comic book stars like Brie Larson, Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, and more. The soundtrack is fantastic, and Wright directed the action with so much personality. The cult status of the film has led to a reunion for a table read during the pandemic and a spinoff animated series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, on Netflix. It’s possibly the greatest modern cult classic.
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