10 Amazing Movies That Bombed At The Box Office
3. Donnie Darko
Budget: $4.5 million
Box Office: $7.5 million
The movie that established Jake Gyllenhaal as one of the most talented actors of the 21st century, Donnie Darko was mind bending and them some. The movie follows Donnie as he sees recurring visions of a giant, terrifying being in a rabbit costume informing him that the world is close to ending.
Part sci fi, part psychological thriller, Richard Kelly well and truly confused audiences with this one. So much so that there are entire websites with complicated flow charts, just to explain the narrative of the movie.
As soon as the movie starts, you're immediately pulled into this world that feels like something is sort of off, but you can't quite put your finger on it. This constant sense of paranoia and unease that weighs the titular character down is transmitted to the audience.
Time vortexes and terrifying bunnies aside, Donnie Darko is also an incredibly engaging look into the psyche of a person who is constantly worried about the nature of his own existence. His extreme existential crisis.
The movie was relatively star studded, but it was most likely the most unfortunate of circumstances that hindered its box office run. Donnie Darko was released at the end of October 2001, less than two months on from the September 11th attacks.
The promotional material also featured a crashing plane. Whether this was the main cause for the lack of interest or not, you could easily see why American audiences were not initially flocking to see this. Thankfully, the movie has gained a cult following and is widely appreciated as an extremely unique and singular sci fi movie.