10 Awesome Movies Audiences Weren't Ready For

1. Annihilation

And finally, our list wraps up with one of the most divisive sci-fi films of recent years, Annihilation, the brainchild of rising sci-fi auteur-in-the-making Alex Garland.

But Garland isn't quite a brand unto himself yet like, say, Terrence Malick, and so with Annihilation following the brilliant-yet-accessible Ex Machina, it's easy to appreciate why its more elliptical, surreal approach caught many viewers off-guard.

Before Annihilation even hit cinemas, though, Paramount felt that the film was "too intellectual" for casual audiences, which was problematic given its $55 million budget.

But due to producer Scott Rudin having final cut privilege, he was able to prevent Paramount from hacking the film to pieces in pursuit of a broader through-line, and it was eventually released internationally on Netflix.

It's easy to view Paramount's decision as cynical, but the film's paltry U.S. box office quickly confirmed their suspicions: it landed a poor "C" CinemaScore and grossed just $43.1 million worldwide.

Clearly, audiences weren't ready to engage with Annihilation's heady, provocative sci-fi logic and world-building, not least the fact that there wasn't a traditional alien creature anywhere in sight.

Despite winning rave reviews and amassing a cult following of fans, Garland's film was released before the overwhelming majority of potential viewers were ready to accept such bold filmmaking.

Obviously we won't be able to fully appreciate Annihilation's impact on the genre for years if not decades, but it's easy to be confident that it will stand tall as a sci-fi landmark 20 or 30 years from now.