20 Things You Didn't Know About The Thing
6. It Was Not Successful Upon Release
It's tough to imagine this today, where The Thing is frequently hailed as one of the most creative and iconic sci-fi films of all time, but back in 1982, neither audiences nor critics cared much for it.
In addition to the aforementioned Razzie nod for composer Ennio Morricone, critics were mostly frosty, expressing frustration over the film's nihilistic tone and excessive gore, while it failed to rustle up much business at the box office.
Speculation continues that audiences, enamored with Steven Spielberg's E.T. released just weeks prior, weren't in the mood for a brutal alien invasion film.
And even Christian Nyby, the director of the 1951 original, The Thing from Another World, chimed in to criticise the new film.
Carpenter ended up losing his multi-film deal with Universal over The Thing's failure, and was only vindicated years later when it became a cult gem on home video.
Curiously, it was released the very same day as Blade Runner, another film which was met with hostility on initial release before being redeemed later on.