13 Horror Movies That Bombed at the Box Office but Became Classics After Home Video Release

Frailty

Synopsis: FBI agent Wesley Doyle is startled by the spontaneous declaration of youngster Fenton Meiks about how his father’s delusions to have a divine mission as avenging angel required him and his brother Adam to become his ‘demon-slaying’ murder accomplices. But when Doyle accepts to be shown concealed victim graves, the plot twists in the present just as gruesomely.

Domestic Box Office: $13 million

Budget: $11 million

Opening weekend: #9

The Verdict: Frailty was an excellent film that somehow flew under the radar upon release. But that’s not the most unfathomable factor here. What is, is the fact that this riveting piece that boasts genius storytelling, palpable dread and an eye-opening cast still flies under the radar! That said, this is a film with a cult following if ever there was one. There are a lot fans who adore this film, and thanks to the DVD release a number of new fans have climbed aboard. It’s not loved on the level of films like The Thing or The Monster Squad, but it does a fine following and it’s done far better business through DVD sales than it managed at the Box office.

Children of the Corn

Synopsis: A boy preacher named Isaac goes to a town in Nebraska called Gatlin and gets all the children to murder every adult in town. A young couple have a murder to report and they go to the nearest town (Gatlin) to seek help but the town seems deserted. They are soon trapped in Gatlin with little chance of getting out alive.

Domestic Box Office: $14 million

Budget: $3 million

Opening weekend: #5

The Verdict: Children of the Corn, like a few others on this list, made its budget back. But it sputtered on the big screen, and it sputtered hard. For one of the better King transfers it’s a little shocking to know the doom this entire franchise would face. We’ve literally never seen a well-embraced Children of the Corn film. It seems crazy, knowing there are about a million of these pics in existence. You’d think one could get it right… and you’d think that one would be the very first. It was not to be… until a home video release that had fans hyped up about a movie they opted to initially skip. The first film’s popularity with home viewers sparked a sequel, but that just triggered the beginning of a long run of drab films.

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