10 Films That Surprisingly Boosted Sales Of Food And Drink

5. The Big Lebowski - Kahlua

The Coen brothers filmography is full of movies with critical acclaim and a whole heap of awards. None of them, however, can compete for pure, obsessive cult fandom appeal with laconic rug-based mystery The Big Lebowski. Despite its relative box office failure on release, this endlessly quotable meandering bowling comedy-cum-Raymond Chandler riff has inspired legions of Little Lebowski Urban Achievers in a level of devotion that borders on a literal cult. Dudeism (or The Church Of The Latter Day Dude if you're not into the whole brevity thing) is a pseudo-religion with over 200,000 adherents, formed on the basis of following the lifestyle advocated by the film's laid back, dressing gown clad protagonist The Dude. When you've got that kind of following, merely inspiring a fanbase to share your beverage of choice seems almost insignificant in comparison. Essentially a throwback to the 1960s and 70s, the pairing of the stoner hero with the once fleetingly popular White Russian cocktail made perfect sense in the Coens' script. After the film gained its increasingly dedicated following, though, the somewhat niche drink, a mix of vodka, milk and coffee liqueur, gained a huge boost in popularity. Given the lack of variety in options of coffee liqueur, this was naturally good news for Mexican rum and coffee based drink Kahlua, but during one "Lebowski Fest" even milk sold out within a one-mile radius of the bowling alley.