10 Flop Movies You Thought Were Huge Hits

Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men is quite arguably one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made and, honestly, one of the best films of all time full stop.

Though it received rave reviews as well as three Oscar nominations, Cuarón's dystopian action thriller was a catastrophic box office dud, falling just shy of recouping even its $76 million budget.

It certainly didn't help that Universal decided to release it on Christmas Day in the U.S. - a time when audiences generally aren't interested in watching bleak, gloomy sci-fi movies, especially when they could've seen more frothy, easily digestible fare like Rocky Balboa, Night at the Museum, and The Pursuit of Happyness instead.

Even with its enticing post-apocalyptic premise, the grim vibe, lack of sustained action, and absence of A-listers likely also prevented it from becoming a bigger audience breakout, even if it has absolutely been vindicated by the enduring praise it's been lavished with over the last near-20 years.