20 Most Important Blockbusters That Changed Cinema Forever

15. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Before the hype machine kicked in for Episode VII, The Phantom Menace was the most hotly anticipated film ever. Marking the return of Star Wars to the big screen after sixteen years, the fourth entry in the series cemented the franchise as one of the most important pop culture touchstones of the 20th Century. And while it made truckloads at the box office the film's real lasting legacy is how its reputation was so shockingly changed.

Batman And Robin had already suffered at the hands of the internet, with poor pre-release hype and fan derision destroying the film's hopes at the box office, but what happened with Episode I is much bigger. Initially well-received, the disappointment with the film soon set in and became all-out fan hate as time went by. It's certainly the most high-profile and impactful fan backlash we've seen and marked a true tipping point in the role the internet played in how films were received and who they were marketed towards.

Of course, it didn't help that mere months before audiences had just seen the future of sci-fi blockbusters...