10 Critically Acclaimed Films That Struggled At The Box Office

Another sad entry, The Iron Giant was based on the book by Edward James Hughes that he wrote for his children. It had a long journey to the screen, being adapted as a musical album first and then a stage show. Once it was animated and ready for release, it's been said that Warner Brothers (who had little hope for the film) were shocked when their test audiences fed back some of the highest ratings ever.

The tragedy of The Iron Giant is that is has a 96% approval rating, but it was essentially let down by the lack of a targeted advertising campaign. The studio had been recently stung by a lack of success with its last animated effort and had no faith that there would be an audience out there for it.

Overall, it cost $50 million to make, and they only made $30 million of it back. Despite this, it has won nine awards and seen a number of different home media releases. Like a lot of others, this too has developed a cult following for what is a genuinely touching storyline.

Side note: the giant is voiced by none other than Vin Diesel.