10 Great Movies That Inexplicably Flopped At The Box Office

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The film that's on perhaps more "my favourite movies ever" lists than any other, The Shawshank Redemption is an icon of 90s cinema, and one of those movies you just can't help but keep watching any time it's airing on TV.

The classic story of Andy Dufresne being locked up in the notorious Shawshank State Penitentiary for a murder he didn't commit, and his eventual redemption, has had a surprising impact to say what little box office it achieved. According to BoxOfficeMojo, on its original release it only grossed just over $28 million against a $25 million budget.

Directed by Frank Darabont, Shawshank was received well critically being nominated for seven Academy Awards in acting, writing, cinematography, editing and sound categories. And luckily, due to word of mouth the film picked up steam on VHS and sold 320,000 copies, eventually becoming a constant listing on television around the world.

Not all films on this list made their money back. Some got lucky, like Shawshank, and managed to recoup their costs on home media sales, but others haven't and likely won't. Luckily, they do prove that films don't necessarily have to make money to be good.