10 Box Office Flops Much Better Than Their Reputations

1. The Postman

Budget: $80 million

Worldwide Gross: $17.6 million

The words "post-apocalyptic adventure" and "Kevin Costner" might not get many people excited nowadays, but they kept people away like a highly-publicised, violent case of herpes in 1997. Just two years after Waterworld threatened to permanently drown Costner's career (along with anyone else who was involved in the mammoth disaster), he decided to involve himself in an eerily familiar storyline.

Granted, the specifics of these two movies couldn't be further apart, but the vague outline was enough to rightfully scare audiences away in droves.

The Postman takes a much more sentimental approach to living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland however, as Costner's character acts as the living embodiment of hope, an anti-hero that slowly becomes an actual hero as the film progresses. See, Costner finds a long-dead postman's old mailbag and uniform, and quickly takes to using the relics as part of a con scheme. But as he delivers the old letters, he becomes genuinely affected by people's reactions to these links to the past.

Sound a bit cheesy? It may be, but that's what Costner is best at. Still, the bad guys are delightfully over-the-top, the cinematography is top-notch, and the story only appears too grandiose because of its runtime. Really, it's a simple allegory about restoring hope to a once great nation. But... ya know... using the postal service.

Also, Tom Petty is so incredibly cool in this movie that his few scenes more than make up for any other shortcomings the film might have to offer.

Which other unjustified turkeys belong on this list? Share your picks below in the comments thread.