20 HUGE Hit Movies NOBODY Saw Coming

6. Crocodile Dundee

Crocodile Dundee was produced for less than $10 million and intended to appeal to a broad American audience, but the producers could've never foreseen that the Paul Hogan-starring action-comedy would become a global smash hit.

Though the industry didn't expect much from its U.S. release, it ended up holding the #1 spot for nine weeks in a row and performed similarly in other territories such as the UK.

Word of mouth combined with the sheer novelty factor of an Australian fish-out-of-water comedy getting a big, splashy theatrical release around the globe powered it to astronomical levels of success, ultimately grossing $328 million.

And so, a most unexpected franchise was born with Hogan becoming an iconic mega-star around the world, even if none of the sequels managed to match the critical or commercial success of the original offering.

Nobody would've batted an eyelid if Crocodile Dundee simply endured as a mildly profitable cult classic, but it actually became a bonafide blockbuster comedy.