10 Box Office Failures That Are Actually Brilliant

5. Beloved

Based on the novel by Toni Morrison and directed by Jonathan Demme (perhaps best known for helming the likes of Silence of the Lambs), Beloved is a sort of dramatic horror movie set just after the Civil War - one that has been largely forgotten. Starring Oprah Winfrey, it runs at 171 minutes: is there any wonder as to why this might've not been pulling audiences into theatres in their masses? Beloved cost a whopping $80 million to put together, grossed only $22 million, but was well-received by critics, despite the fact that not a lot of people went to see it. Or did they? "Beloved only played in theaters for four weeks," said Jonathan Demme on the matter. "It made $22 million dollar - I think that's a lot of money." According to Demme, Disney wanted the theatres for Adam Sandler's The Waterboy, and proposed to bring back Beloved at the end of the year, but didn't bother. The failure of the movie apparently sent Oprah into a depression, but she should rest assured that there's nothing wrong with the product itself: Beloved is packed with wonderful performances, is creepy, strange and cerebral, and is absolutely beautiful to look at.