20 Movies Way More Successful Than Anyone Expected
8. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
100 years from now when all of us are dust, box office analysts will still be trying to make sense of My Big Fat Greek Wedding's absolutely insane theatrical performance.
Not a single living soul expected a $5 million rom-com about Greek-American culture starring a totally unknown lead actress (Nia Vardalos) to crack the 10 highest-grossing films of 2002, and yet it did precisely that.
Though it initially had a limited release, overwhelmingly positive word-of-mouth saw its theatrical run expand slowly over time, and it impressively kept drumming up enough business for IFC Films to keep it in cinemas for the better part of a year.
By the end of its run My Big Fat Greek Wedding grossed an unimaginable $368.7 million globally, putting it ahead of much buzzier and more expensive 2002 releases like Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, Chicago, and Gangs of New York.
It's a feat that's even more jaw-dropping when you consider that the film never once took the #1 spot despite lingering around in cinemas for so long.