20 Things You Didn't Know About The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Though it eventually became a pop-culture phenomenon and to date boasts box office receipts of over $140 million, at the time of its initial release the movie was largely deemed a failure.

In addition to being panned by most critics, its theatrical opening was poor, resulting in the film being withdrawn from eight opening cities in the U.S., while its planned New York City opening on Halloween night was also cancelled.

Meat Loaf even famously commented that he attended a screening of the movie with writer-director Jim Sharman and found the cinema totally empty.

The film only began to enjoy an uptick a year after its original release, as word of mouth began to spread about the midnight screenings, which have only surged in popularity ever since.