Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Captain America: Civil War have made, between the two of them, about $630 million as of this writing. To put that into perspective, that’s more than the 2014 Gross Domestic Product of the island nation of Dominica. If Warner Bros. and Disney pooled their resources, they could buy several island nations on the earnings of about a dozen films.
Of course, despite their respective reviews, both of those films were expected to gross huge amounts of money. Superheroes are the biggest business behind Star Wars, and a giant tentpole superhero flick is considered a disappointment if it earns under $100 million in a single weekend now.
Also: The Nine Best Box Office Bombs
But a big movie making big money isn’t an interesting story. The more interesting stories are always the tales of the sleeper hits. The films that studios did not highly advertise, and that were made for a lower budget, but still managed to worm their way into the top 10, and still managed to co-opt popular culture in a way no one saw coming. These films prove that the public can still decide what’s popular despite multi-million dollar ad campaigns, major 4000-screen releases, and studio machinations. The business is indeed a business, but sometimes quirk, word-of-mouth, and artistry can outweigh studio indifference or smaller release patterns.
Over the years, here have been numerous summer blockbusters that were either mid-range releases in the eyes of major studios, or were minor releases by littler distribution houses, that still raked in major numbers. Here are the ten most notable.
Ten Summer Blockbusters That Came Out Of Nowhere:
Top Image: Universal
Witney Seibold is a contributor to the CraveOnline Film Channel, and the co-host of The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon. He also contributes to Legion of Leia and to Blumhouse. You can follow him on “The Twitter” at @WitneySeibold, where he is slowly losing his mind.
10 Unexpected Summer Blockbusters
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Easy Rider (July 14th, 1969)
When Dennis Hopper's Easy Rider was released, it was meant to be a secret indie subversion that sneaked its way into theaters. Not only did it make a huge amount of money, but it changed all of filmmaking culture for nearly a decade.
Image: Columbia
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Mad Max (March 21st, 1980)
Mad Max was a low-budget Ozploitation flick that didn't enjoy a big American release. At least not at first. It became a cult hit, and spawned several sequels, one of which was nominated for Best Picture just last year. It more or less invented the post-apocalypse genre as we know it.
Image: AIP
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Phenomenon (July 3rd, 1996)
Few talk about this one anymore, but in 1996, it was a big deal. A little film about John Travolta gaining super mental powers for a short while became a darling in the indie circuit, then the mainstream circuit.
Image: Buena Vista
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There's Something About Mary (July 15th, 1998)
The Farrelly Bros. rules late '90s comedy with a fluid-soaked fist, thanks to the slow roll-out of this unexpectedly large gross-out comedy/romance. This film birthed a subgenre that lasted for the next six or seven years.
Image: 20th Century Fox
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The Blair Witch Project (July 30th, 1999)
Made for a budget of $5 (well, actually, it was $60,000), this found-footage horror movie shook the world with its bracing aesthetic, and became one of the highest grossing films of all time in terms of cost-to-earnings ratio.
Image: Artisan
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The Sixth Sense (August 6th, 1999)
M. Night Who? This tale of a young boy who can see ghosts also had a slow roll-out in 1999, and word of mouth turned it into a juggernaut. It was eventually nominated for Best Picture.
Image: Disney
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My Big Fat Greek Wedding (August 2nd, 2002)
A success story for the ages, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a shabby-but-charming little indie flick that managed to stay in theaters for many, many months, eventually gaining a huge amount of money and cultural goodwill.
Image: IFC
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Napoleon Dynamite (August 22nd, 2004)
Shabby, silly, and fitfully funny, Napoleon Dynamite quickly became a cult hit for its oddball characters and wry sense of humor. In 2004, this was the film to see. To this day, you can get Napoleon Dynamite merchandise. And odd thing for a little indie flick.
Image: Fox Searchlight
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March of the Penguins (July 22nd, 2005)
Thanks to a sonorous narration from Morgan Freeman, and a brilliant preview that featured Braveheart-type music, a documentary about freaking penguins took the world by storm. It ended up getting an Oscar for Best Documentary.
Image: Warner Bros.
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Bridesmaids (May 13th, 2011)
Oh my gosh! Movies about women make money! This was the constant exclamation from a shocked public when Paul Fieg's dirty comedy struck gold in May of 2011. Yes, it turns out we like movies with women in them. This film also cemented Melissa McCarthy as a talent to look out for. She hasn't matched this film since.
Image: Universal
