10 Recent Horror Movies That Didn't Deserve To Bomb

On paper, it really seemed like J.T. Mollner's horror-thriller Strange Darling had everything it needed to be a decent success. 

With a low budget estimated to be between $4-10 million, rave reviews from the festival circuit, and strong word-of-mouth among genre enthusiasts, the potential for a breakout seemed considerable. But Mollner's film never really found its footing, concluding its run at just $4.8 million, which, even with a modest rollout to 1,135 theaters in North America, is incredibly disappointing.

The result was dispiriting enough that distributor Magenta Light Productions ended up suing its marketing partner on the film, Spellbinder, for fraud and breach of contract, claiming that they didn't deliver their promised marketing spend and even used bots to inflate the "success" of their work promoting the movie.

Either way, Strange Darling is frustrating proof that a film can be extremely well-received, get strong buzz leading up to release, and still fail at the box office. At least it feels like a picture destined to be discovered by many on streaming, which should help it recoup more of its budget over time.