10 Failed Movies That Only Found Their Audience On TV

5. Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)

Ideas are anathema in Hollywood, so a children€™s musical set in a psychedelic wonderland where green-haired, orange-skinned Oompa Loompas assist an eccentric recluse in creating lickable wallpaper, fizzy lifting drinks and everlasting gobstoppers was bound to have enduring cult appeal. It certainly didn€™t set the box office on fire, earning only $4 million on a $3 million budget. In fact, Paramount had so little interest in the film that they allowed their distribution deal to lapse in 1977, so when repeat television screenings brought the picture to a wider audience, its popularity caused Warner Bros. to acquire the property, leading to a 25th anniversary re-release (which grossed $21 million) as well as a 2005 remake and a 2013 stage musical adaptation. Disowned by Roald Dahl, who€™d wanted Spike Milligan for the title role, Willy Wonka remains the most popular adaptation of his work, ahead of Matilda, The BFG, Danny The Champion Of The World and The Witches.