20 Movies Way More Successful Than Anyone Expected

20. John Wick

It's no exaggeration to say that expectations were through the floor for John Wick prior to its release. 

Given that Keanu Reeves was well and truly in the middle of his flop era by 2014, having him star in a revenge film about a dead dog didn't exactly inspire much confidence.

It also didn't help that the film was helmed by first-time stuntman-turned-filmmaker Chad Stahelski, and Lionsgate's marketing was so low-key that they seemed almost embarrassed by it.

Hell, we even included John Wick on our own list of films which might score 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, and as silly as that seems in retrospect, Reeves' straits were dire enough at that point that it was a totally reasonable prediction.

But John Wick was one of 2014's most unexpected hits, grossing a tidy $86 million on a $30 million budget, boosted by strong reviews for the film's kinetic action, smart world-building, and Reeves' entertainingly stoic performance.

The rest, as they say, is history - across four main movies and a recent spin-off, the John Wick IP has grossed $1.16 billion worldwide. 

Who could've ever predicted that from a film which, in the eyes of many, looked like VOD action fodder at first glance?