10 Failed Movies That Became Cult Classics

5. Heaven's Gate

Heaven's Gate is perhaps the most infamous example of filmmaker hubris that Hollywood has ever seen.

Fresh off Best Picture and Best Director Oscar wins for The Deer Hunter two years prior, Michael Cimino conceived an epic historical western which ended up quadrupling its initial planned budget as it ran wildly off-schedule.

The near-four-hour final film was a mind-boggling box office failure, grossing just $3.5 million against a $44 million budget. Its disastrous performance caused both the financial collapse of studio United Artists and the destruction of Cimino's career as a result.

To rub salt in the wound, it was also instantly scorned by critics, with many even deeming it one of the worst movies ever made. Ouch.

Contemporary re-edits of the film, however, managed to renew interest to the point that Heaven's Gate now sits at a nearly-fresh 57% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Though many recent reviews still contend that Heaven's Gate is a tough slog to get through, its sheer scale, ambition and heart-on-sleeve emotion has won it a cavalcade of staunch defenders.

While you probably won't want to watch it more than once, it's certainly worth a single viewing if only to observe the mind-blowing madness - and often, arrogance - of Cimino's beguiling vision.