10 Box Office Hits That Everybody Expected To Be Huge Flops

5. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Shortly before the release of Guardians Of The Galaxy a report from Hollywood.com opened with the headline, "Guardians of the Galaxy Teaser Reminds Us How Big a Risk This Movie Is Going to Be." Looking back after the film's enormous success and it's hard to imagine anyone having doubts. Guardians Of The Galaxy was never a sure thing - based on a Marvel title few people had heard of and starring a relative unknown in the leading role (Chris Pratt's only other huge hit at this point was The LEGO Movie), there were plenty of reasons to suspect it might be a flop. Furthermore, as the Hollywood.com article observed, "This is going to be a weird looking film, and it will take a lot for the usual audiences to accept it for all of its eccentricities." Fortunately, audiences lapped up Guardians Of The Galaxy, not least on account of Chris Pratt's endearing performance. While the dominance of comic book adaptations over the blockbuster market might be a bad thing (unless you're an avid comic book fan), the film stands as proof that you don't need an established brand to do well.