Sometimes, when a movie opens in theaters, the fight to become a box office hit can look like bloodsport. While some bad movies wind up making billions, some more deserving movies wind up making next to nothing at all. But what of all the box office flops actually deserve a sequel? True to the spirit of capitalism, Hollywood operates by the simple adage: "Give the people what they want.
" When a movie is a hit, chances are good that a sequel – or even, perhaps, an entire franchise – will happen later. But with people's attention always divided and only so much expendable cash to go around, some flicks with serious potential for longevity see their future prospects cut way too short. Let's also not forget that hindsight is 20/20, and that many movies are considered "bad" at first (especially to critics) only to wind up so-called cult classics.
From franchise non-starters to cult darlings, here are 32 movies that flopped at the box office but actually deserve a sequel. 32. Equilibrium (2002) Equilibrium's story about cops in a dystopian future is awfully derivative of sci-fi classics like Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, and 1984, and its visual aesthetics too evocative of The Matrix.
Still, though audiences ignored Equilibrium at first, the picture has slowly drawn attention as a cult movie. If nothing else, it has slick (if also silly) action choreography revolving around its own invented martial art called "gun kata." Far from Christian Bale's best movie, Equilibrium has .
