10 More Huge Box Office Hits NOBODY Saw Coming

He may be one of the most celebrated action stars on the planet today, but it was a very different story for the great Keanu Reeves back in 2014.

At that stage in his career, The Matrix and Speed actor wasn't exactly a bankable box-office attraction. Sure, he'd experienced some success with those aforementioned features, but the early 2010s were a bit of a rough time for Reeves as he starred in such forgettable duds as 47 Ronin, Man of Tai Chi, and Generation Um...

His next outing by the name of John Wick sadly didn't appear to be a career-saver either, with that film's first trailer making this Chad Staheski-directed picture look like yet another generic actioner set to be added to Reeves' ever-growing collection of box office/critical failures.

What followed, though, was one of the most thrilling and inspired action thrillers of the last decade. And, thanks to that lacklustre marketing, this hard-hitting, at times gloriously nuts, and consistently stylish quest for revenge in the wake of the titular hitman's dog being shockingly murdered, ultimately defied expectations when it burst into cinemas, going down an absolute treat with both audiences and critics.

A hugely unexpected $86 million haul for the $20-30 million-budgeted first outing for Mr. Wick then made a sequel a no-brainer, and the rest was ass-kicking history.

Who would have guessed that the seemingly bland action thriller found in those early trailers would lead to one of the most successful and adored franchises of recent times, eh?