10 Movies Nobody Saw In Cinemas (But Everyone Watches On TV)

4. Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

The Shawshank Redemption
Paramount Pictures

Look into the eyes of Gene Wilder there, and you can see a tinge of sorrow from the man who played the titular Wonka in 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Revered as a legendary movie by so many people who have seen the picture so, so many times over the decades, Mel Stuart's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory struggled to find an audience when the film was first delivered to cinemagoers.

So beloved is this silver screen offering, 2014 saw the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress recognise the movie for its cultural, historical and aesthetic significance. Unfortunately, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory only amassed $4.5 million at the box office, which proved to be a major disappointment for Paramount Pictures.

The initial theatrical release of the picture saw solid reviews from those who saw it, but it was only when Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory started hitting TV screens in the 1980s that the film saw a massive jolt in the arm when it comes to its popularity.

Since then, the '71 antics of Willy Wonka, Charlie Bucket and Co. have continued to be a constant TV favourite.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.