10 Flop Movies That Somehow Got Sequels
8. Highlander
You'd certainly be forgiven for assuming that 1986's fantasy-adventure film Highlander enjoyed a modest-at-worst performance at the box office given that it spawned four sequels - three of which were released theatrically - as well as several TV shows and various comic books, novels, and other associated merch.
But get this - not a single one of the four theatrical Highlander movies has been a box office success. Nope, not even the first.
Despite being produced for a fair $19 million, the original netted just $12.8 million theatrically, but enjoyed considerably greater success on home video, where it quickly became a cult fave among genre fans.
This led to a sequel five years later with the widely-panned Highlander II: The Quickening, which flopped yet didn't stop the producers from releasing two more theatrical sequels, both of which also flamed out commercially.
One can only assume that these films do gangbusters business on home video and generate a ton of merch sales, because what other explanation could there possibly be for Highlander's bizarrely enduring existence?