Sometimes there’s a great movie in theaters, but it quickly becomes overshadowed by an even bigger movie. A movie can face financial ruin by a poorly-timed theatrical release.
Take a look at some of the movies that simply had bad luck and came out at the wrong time.
Anastasia (1997)
Animation used to be far more competitive than it is today. In 1997, there were two major animated movies vying for attention. Anastasia depicted slightly darker topics than its rival, The Little Mermaid (1997).
Unfortunately, with the huge marketing budget Disney has, it was able to push audiences into seeing their movie instead. Anastasia ended up not performing well in theaters as a result.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
It’s crazy to think a movie as popular and loved as The Shawshank Redemption didn’t do well in theaters. But you only need to see what it was up against to see why. Two major films were in theaters at the same time and vying for the same awards.
Pulp Fiction (1994) and Forrest Gump (1994) were already competing against each other. The Shawshank Redemption had little chance of performing well.
My Fair Lady (1964)
This classic musical would go on to inspire many movies after it. While it was already a successful Broadway show, the 1964 picture brought some of the stage cast to the big screen.
Unfortunately, it didn’t do quite as well as hoped. It happened to be up against the huge hit Mary Poppins (1964), which catapulted Julie Andrews to fame.
Fun fact, Julie Andrews played the lead character Eliza DoLittle in the stage production of My Fair Lady.
The Illusionist (2006)
Two incredible movies came out around the same time in 2006. The Illusionist starred Edward Thornton and The Prestige (2006) starred Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale. Both movies were similar in that they were about stage magic.
The audience ended up seeing The Prestige more than The Illusionist.
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I (2023)
Audiences can usually expect a great time with a Mission Impossible movie. Unfortunately, the timing for this particular film didn’t do it any favors.
It came out just before Barbie (2023) and Oppenheimer (2023). Suffice it to say, some people chose to save their money for tickets to Barbenheimer instead.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
The Grand Budapest Hotel deserved far more awards than it received. A primary reason why it wasn’t given its due is because of the stacked competition in 2014.
Birdman (2014)Â also came out that year, and it swept up awards left and right. The Grand Budapest Hotel, unfortunately, didn’t stand a chance.
The Last Samurai (2003)
Many people thought that The Last Samurai was going to be the year Tom Cruise won an Oscar. Unfortunately, at the Academy Awards, The Last Samurai was up against The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003).
The Lord of the Rings swept the awards show. If The Last Samurai had been released a year later, perhaps then Cruise would have received his due.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
The Last Samurai wasn’t the only film to suffer at the hands of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Many also felt that Master and Commander: Far Side of the World was robbed both at the Academy Awards and in theaters.
Ready Or Not (2019)
Ready Or Not is a fun thriller with unexpected twists and a whole lot of violence. It could have performed great in theaters if another quirky movie hadn’t come out at the same time.
Knives Out (2019) was a huge, viral success that kept Ready Or Not in the shadows.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
At long last, it looked as though there was finally going to be a decent Dungeons and Dragons movie. And it was great. Except it also came out right when The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) did.
It did okay at the box office, but delaying the movie even a few months later may have given this film a chance to perform better.
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