10 Ways Successful Movies Had Their Reputations Ruined
You can tolerate the Ewoks, but Sy Snootles??
Filmmaking is a tricky business.
On the one hand, it’s all about entertaining the masses, while on the other, it’s a business like any other. At the end of the day though, making money is the name of the game, and when it comes to movies, there are literally millions, and sometimes, billions of dollars at stake.
When a movie does well, it tends to be good news for everyone — from the actors and actresses, to the producers and investors.
Yet, though money may be what the movie business is all about behind the scenes, at the forefront of most consumers' minds isn’t the box office, it’s a film’s reputation.
Think about a movie with a bad reputation, and it’s either one you saw and think of poorly, or one you skipped out on viewing entirely. If someone tells you not to watch something for a variety of reasons, you might never see it. This is true of bad movies as well as good ones, too.
The following films were critically and/or financially successful, but they still suffer from some rather nasty reputations, keeping viewers away to this day.
10. The Black Cauldron
The Black Cauldron is one of those movies that wasn't a hit when released but has since become a successful cult classic. It was the most expensive animated film ever made when released in 1985, and it garnered immediate controversy over its content, which was heavily edited.
The original ending was determined to be too disturbing to children, so Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered it changed. The changes didn't help keep the kids from getting scared, and parents lambasted the movie, saying it was way too dark to come out from the House of Mouse.
That may have been true in the '80s, but after 13 years, it saw a re-release, and the movie began building a successful cult following.
Despite the massive success The Black Cauldron has had in video sales, its bad reputation - calling it unsuitable for children - remains.
The negative association is hardly fitting for a film that is rated PG, but it continues to damage the movie's reputation 35+ years later. That's a shame, seeing as it contains groundbreaking CGI animation, making it the first Disney title containing that innovation.
Had the movie been released by another studio, it would have likely fared far better.