10 Critical Darling Movies That Were Shot Dead At The Box Office

Adapted from the beloved children's tale by poet laureate Ted Hughes, directed by the seemingly unstoppable Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol), and scored by the magnificent Michael Kamen, The Iron Giant somehow still failed to make back its fairly modest $50 million budget.

Though the film is widely regarded as a thematic and critical triumph, with a shocking 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and a depth of animation that had legends such as Hayao Miyazaki singing its praises, it made only around $30 million in cinemas worldwide. Warner Brothers failed to market the film, almost at all, and it went ahead without any of the media tie-ins necessary to drive a successful children's movie - especially one with heavy, Cold War themes.

The studio didn't know how to pitch the film, audiences didn't know it existed, and The Iron Giant fell from grace as a beautiful failure. But, with a renewed marketing campaign and pay-per-view and home releases, the film's reach grew and eventually found some success - though nothing close to the hype it deserved.