10 Notorious Box Office Bombs That Are Actually Pretty Good
2. Grindhouse (2007)
Budget: $53m Box Office: $25.4m RT: 83%
Two of the most well-known film enthusiasts in Hollywood, best buddies and frequent collaborators Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez turned their love of exploitation cinema into a 191 minute double-feature, complete with an intermission and trailers for 'upcoming' releases. Unfortunately, audiences were unsure of how to react to the 1970's-inspired experiment, and Grindhouse ended up massively under-performing at the box office.
The movie's failure at the domestic box office saw Planet Terror and Death Proof released separately overseas, which defeats the purpose of Grindhouse entirely. On their own, they are good but not great; Rodriguez delivers an entertaining tongue-in-cheek genre flick, and despite being the weakest entry by far in Tarantino's filmography Death Proof features a brilliant third-act car chase and Kurt Russell on top form as Stuntman Mike.
Add in intentionally missing footage, scratched film and fake trailers by Rodriguez, Edgar Wright, Rob Zombie and Eli Roth that featured cameos by everyone from Simon Pegg to Nicolas Cage, and the end result is one of the most unique and interesting cinematic experiences of recent years.