15 Movies You Thought Were Doomed (But Weren't)

2. Where The Wild Things Are

Any studio that willingly gave Spike Jonze $100 million to adapt a Maurice Sendak children's book really should've known what they were getting into.

Shooting for Where the Wild Things Are began in April 2006, more than three-and-a-half years before it finally hit cinemas, and the production didn't go smoothly at all. One of the main issues was the suits for the wild things: they were cumbersome for the actors to wear, and young lead Max Records struggled to act opposite their blank faces (which would be digitally added in post-production).

In addition, Michelle Williams was dismissed after a few days of shooting as her voice was deemed not to match the character she was playing.

Furthermore, with leaked test footage being dismissed as "creepy" online, Warner Bros. opted to delay the movie by a year to give Jonze more time to work on the effects of the wild things.

With the budget soaring at this point, Warner Bros. decided to intentionally misrepresent the film in its marketing campaign, selling it as a joyous, family-friendly affair when it was actually a far more somber offering.

This no doubt contributed to iffy word-of-mouth from despondent family crowds and the film underwhelming at the box office, despite the fact it scored solid reviews and endures as a cult favourite today.

Given its painstaking journey to the screen, it's easy to see why so many were down on the movie prior to release, but it actually turned out to be well worth all that effort.